# doughnut

/ˈdoʊˌnət/ (US) · /dˈəʊnʌt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/doughnut
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. sweet snack

noun · CEFR A2

a small, sweet cake that is fried in oil and often shaped like a ring or filled with jam.

For teachers: a small cake of leavened dough, deep-fried and typically either ring-shaped or spherical and filled with jam, cream, or custard.

- We bought a dozen fresh doughnuts from the bakery for the office party.
- The artisanal bakery specialises in sourdough doughnuts glazed with seasonal fruits and topped with crushed pistachios.

### 2. foolish person

noun · CEFR B2 · British English · Informal

a person who has done something silly or stupid.

For teachers: a mild, often affectionate term of abuse for a foolish or clumsy person.

- I forgot my keys again; I'm such a doughnut.
- He felt like a complete doughnut after realising he had been arguing against his own proposal for the last ten minutes.

### 3. ring-shaped object

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

any object that is shaped like a ring or a circle with a hole in the middle.

For teachers: an object or geometric figure possessing a toroidal shape.

- The doctor gave him a foam doughnut to sit on to help with his back pain.
- The particle accelerator uses a series of magnets arranged in a massive doughnut to keep the beams on track.

### 4. driving manoeuvre

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

the act of driving a car in a tight circle so the tyres leave marks on the road.

For teachers: a manoeuvre performed while driving a vehicle, involving rotating the rear of the car around the front wheels to create a circular skid mark.

- The police arrived after some teenagers started doing doughnuts in the empty car park.
- The stunt driver executed a perfect series of doughnuts, leaving thick plumes of white smoke and charred rubber patterns on the asphalt.

### 5. whole note

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang

a musical note that looks like a hollow circle.

For teachers: a colloquial term for a semibreve or whole note, referencing its hollow, circular appearance on a musical staff.

- The teacher told the kids to hold the doughnut for four full beats.
- In the simplified notation used for the beginners' workshop, the instructor referred to the semibreves as doughnuts to help the younger students identify them.

### 6. to encircle

verb · CEFR C2 · Literary

to form a circle around something.

For teachers: to surround or encircle an object or area.

- The small village was doughnuted by a ring of ancient oak trees.
- The new housing development effectively doughnuted the historic town centre, cutting it off from the surrounding countryside.

## Examples

- I bought a fresh doughnut and a coffee for breakfast.
- The office kitchen was filled with the smell of sugar after someone brought in a dozen glazed doughnuts.
- While traditionally associated with simple street food, the modern doughnut has been reimagined by artisanal bakeries using sourdough starters and exotic botanical glazes.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.