doughnut

American  

[doh-nuht, -nuht] / ˈdoʊ nət, -ˌnʌt /

Or donut

noun

1. a small cake of sweetened or, sometimes, unsweetened dough fried in deep fat, typically shaped like a ring or, when prepared with a filling, a ball.

2. anything shaped like a thick ring; an annular object; toroid.

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doughnut British  

/ ˈdəʊnʌt /

noun

1. a small cake of sweetened dough, often ring-shaped or spherical with a jam or cream filling, cooked in hot fat

2. anything shaped like a ring, such as the reaction vessel of a thermonuclear reactor

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verb

1. informal (tr) (of Members of Parliament) to surround (a speaker) during the televising of Parliament to give the impression that the chamber is crowded or the speaker is well supported

Etymology

Origin of doughnut

First recorded in 1795–1805; dough + nut

Explanation

A doughnut is a delicious, deep-fried breakfast treat. Most doughnuts are round and have a hole in the center. Some have frosting and sprinkles, too. You can also call a doughnut a donut, a slightly more common way to spell it in North America. There are different types of doughnuts, but they're all made of sweet dough that's usually fried (but sometimes baked). Many bakeries that specialize in doughnuts also sell doughnut holes, small enough to pop in your mouth. The very earliest doughnuts were probably the olykoek, or "oil cakes" brought to New York by 19th century Dutch settlers.

Example Sentences

These plasma clumps are carried along by the star's magnetic field, forming a doughnut shaped structure called a torus.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

After all, what could be better than a post-skate fritule doughnut, except perhaps a fritule with chocolate sauce.

From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025

Then, in summer, we take Dolly to a local Cars & Coffee at the doughnut shop in town.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

He’d developed a fondness for L.A.’s many doughnut shops, so I brought a box from Sidecar back to his hotel.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025

The torus, or suppression pool, sits like a giant hollow doughnut below the reactor vessel.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

• bun
• pastry