Donut: Meaning, Examples, and Usage Tips

Meaning 1：donut (Donut)

Donut 🔊

/ˈdoʊ.nʌt/

A ring-shaped piece of sweet, fried dough, often with sugar or glaze on top.

donut 🔊

➕

/ˈdoʊ.nʌt/

A ring-shaped pastry made of sweet fried dough, often topped with sugar or glaze.

📁 Category：Diet & Health 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Donut is a simplified spelling of doughnut, from dough + nut (meaning a small lump).

💡 Mnemonic

Think: a ring of dough shaped like a nut—donut!

📖 Example

My mom surprised me with a box of warm donuts for our weekend breakfast. 🔊 My mom surprised me with a box of warm donuts for our weekend breakfast.

🔗 Collocations

donut shop – a store that sells donuts

glazed donut – a donut coated with a thin sugary glaze

donut hole – a small ball-shaped pastry made from the center cut out of a donut

🔄 Synonyms

doughnut (n.) – the original spelling of donut, referring to the same fried pastry

ring cake (n.) – a cake baked in the shape of a ring, similar to a donut but often less fried

🌱 Derivatives

donut-shaped (adj.) – having the circular form of a donut

donutlike (adj.) – resembling a donut in shape or texture

📖 Cultural Story

Introduced by Dutch settlers as olykoeks, the name doughnut emerged in the 1800s; donut is a modern abbreviation popularized by Dunkin Donuts.