donut

IPA/ˈdəʊnʌt/
KK[dˈonˌʌt]IPA/ˈdəʊnʌt/

donut — noun

  • donutsingular
  • donutsplural

1. a sweet snack made from fried dough, often shaped like a ring or a round ball wi

1.nounA2
Definition

a sweet snack made from fried dough, often shaped like a ring or a round ball with a sweet filling inside, and sometimes covered with icing, sugar, or chocolate

Example

Hoa bought a box of glazed donuts for the office meeting.

collocation: glazed donuts / box of donuts

The bakery on Elm Street sells fresh donuts every morning before eight.

Common collocations
  • glazed donut
  • jelly donut
  • chocolate donut
  • powdered donut
  • cake donut
  • yeast donut
  • donut shop
  • donut hole
  • box of donuts
  • dozen donuts
  • fresh donuts
  • assorted donuts
Synonyms
  • doughnut

    original spelling variant, still common in British and formal American writing

  • friedcake

    dated or regional term rarely used in modern conversation

Grammar Patterns

a donut

donuts (plural)

Usage Note

The spelling donut is a simplified variant of doughnut. Both spellings are common in American English, but donut appears more often in brand names and casual writing. In British English, doughnut remains the standard spelling in formal texts. Countable noun — always requires an article or determiner (a donut, two donuts, the donut).

Common Mistakes

I bought donut for breakfast.
I bought a donut for breakfast.
Donut is a countable noun and needs an article or quantifier.
She ate a donut with cream cheese.' (referring to a bagel)
She ate a bagel with cream cheese.
Donuts are sweet pastries, not savory bread rolls; cream cheese is typical with bagels, not donuts.
Idioms

donut hole

idiom

a small round piece of fried dough cut from the center of a ring-shaped donut, or a small ball-shaped pastry sold separately

Christopher ordered a bag of cinnamon donut holes to share with the group.

Donut holes are easier to eat than full-sized donuts at parties.

do donuts

idiom

to drive a vehicle in tight circles on purpose for fun, leaving circular skid marks on the ground

The teenagers were doing donuts in the empty parking lot until security arrived.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Donut and doughnut refer to the exact same food; the only difference is spelling. Doughnut is the traditional form and remains standard in British English and formal American writing, while donut is a simplified spelling that dominates in advertising, brand names, and everyday American use. Friedcake is a much older, broader term for any fried pastry that has largely fallen out of common use — you might encounter it in historical recipes or rural dialects. Pastry is a hypernym covering baked goods made from dough (pies, croissants, danishes); not all pastries are donuts, and not all donuts fit the typical definition of pastry (since they are fried, not baked). In practice, learners should use donut or doughnut in everyday speech and writing, and reserve pastry for items sold in a pastry shop.

donut ↗doughnut ↗friedcake ↗pastry ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • donut shop
  • donut pan
  • donut cutter
  • donut glaze

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Donut is a simplified spelling of doughnut, which comes from the words dough (the flour-and-water mixture used to make bread) and nut (an old English word for a small round cake or biscuit). The first known use of doughnut dates to the early 1800s. The shortened spelling donut appeared in the late 19th century and was popularized in the 1900s by major chains such as Dunkin' Donuts.