dough

noun

ˈdō 

1

: a mixture that consists essentially of flour or meal and a liquid (such as milk or water) and is stiff enough to knead or roll

2

: something resembling dough especially in consistency

3

: money

doesn't have much dough

4

military : doughboy

doughlike

ˈdō-ˌlīk 

adjective

Synonyms of dough

• money
• cash
• coin
• currency

Examples of dough in a Sentence

I don't have much dough.

didn't have to spend a lot of dough for a new stereo

Recent Examples on the Web

Most cookie doughs can (and should) be made ahead and refrigerated, giving them time to deepen in flavor and improve in texture. —Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 6 Dec. 2025

The brioche-like dough resembles a seashell and is topped with a crispy, colorful streusel. —Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 5 Dec. 2025

The kits come complete with Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough roll, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, a taco stand and a $25 gift card for additional ingredients. —Stacy Lambe, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a silicone spatula until a dough forms. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English doh, dogh, dowe, going back to Old English dāg, going back to Germanic *daiga- (whence Middle Dutch deech "dough," Old High German teig, Old Norse deig, deigr, Gothic daigs), ablaut derivative from the base of *digan-, *dīgan- "to knead, shape" (whence Gothic digan, gadigan "to knead, form from clay"), going back to Indo-European *d^hei̯ǵ^h- "knead, shape" — more at feign

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dough

• dough box
• mother dough
• rolling in (the) dough

Rhymes for dough

• beau
• beaux
• blow
• boe
• bro
• coe
• crow
• doe
• doh
• eau
• eaux
• faux

Kids Definition

dough

noun

ˈdō 

1

: a soft mass of moistened flour or meal thick enough to knead or roll

2

: something resembling dough especially in consistency

3

: money sense 1a

doughy

ˈdō-ē

adjective