doughnut

noun

dough·​nut ˈdō-(ˌ)nət 

variants or less commonly donut

1

: a small usually ring-shaped piece of sweet fried dough

2

: something (such as a mathematical torus) that has a round shape like a doughnut

3

: a controlled skid that sends an automobile into a tight circle of at least 360 degrees

—usually used in the phrase do doughnuts

Doing doughnuts? You haven't heard about this? This is what they steal the cars for. Top speed, they slam on the brakes, yank the emergency brake, twist the steering wheel, and the car starts spinning. Wheeling the car in circles at tremendous speeds.

—Philip Roth

doughnutlike

ˈdō-(ˌ)nət-ˌlīk 

adjective

Examples of doughnut in a Sentence

drawing doughnuts in the sand

Recent Examples on the Web

Operated by The Salvation Army, the shop serves warm mini-doughnuts to cruise visitors all summer. —Josh Rivera, USA Today, 15 May 2026

Krispy Kreme is selling a dreamsicle version of its Original Glazed doughnuts for one weekend only. —Fielding Buck, Oc Register, 14 May 2026

Kelce shared a carousel of mouthwatering snapshots of the shop's doughnuts, along with videos of him reviewing them while interacting with Bulloch and customers. —Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026

Pastries come from Oakland’s Sunday Bakeshop, specializing in Asian-fusion treats, and doughnuts and certain hot foods are from George’s Donuts & Merriment in San Francisco. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

dough + nut entry 1 (in sense "rounded cake or biscuit," as in ginger nut, spice nut)

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing doughnut

• doughnut hole

Rhymes for doughnut

• abut
• catgut
• chesnut
• chestnut
• donut
• groundnut
• haircut
• hindgut
• midgut
• precut
• rebut
• recut

Kids Definition

doughnut

noun

dough·​nut

variants also donut

-(ˌ)nət

1

: a small ring of sweet dough fried in fat

2

: something resembling a doughnut especially in shape