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

This summer, Nestlé is adding three new flavorful spins on the classic chocolate chip cookie to its line of refrigerated take-and-bake cookie doughs. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 June 2026

The 87 Concrete is made with creme caramel, Oreo and cookie dough in the company’s frozen custard. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026

The Chips & Lawnmower Queso utilizes the beer in the creamy cheese dip, while the crispy pizzas made with fresh dough range from Kale Yeah! —Melissa Liebling-Goldberg, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026

Ingredients such as butter or flour can accumulate on the sides or bottom of the bowl and stay there, leading to doughs or batters that aren’t uniform or properly incorporated. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 June 2026

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
• beaut
• beaux
• blow
• 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