doughnut

noun

dough·​nut ˈdō-(ˌ)nət How to pronounce doughnut (audio)
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 adjective

Examples of doughnut in a Sentence

drawing doughnuts in the sand
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mini doughnut flavors include blueberry pancake, banana pudding, cinnamon roll, cotton candy, hazelnut, s’mores and more. Jenna Thompson april 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2026 The second of those takeovers centered around a parking lot in which vehicles did burnouts and doughnuts and fireworks were set off as crowds watched. Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026 The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February — five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop — has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday. ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026 Though the city's online neighborhood map technically classifies the site as part of downtown, Long's identifies as a Haughville institution that has served doughnuts to west siders for four generations, serving up to 1,000 customers each day out of its pale-yellow sided building. Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for doughnut

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of doughnut was in 1782

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Doughnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doughnut. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.

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

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