English

Alternative forms

• doughnut

Noun

donut ‎(plural donuts)

1. (Canada, US) A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, commonly made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape, and mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, sometimes filled with jelly, custard or cream.
   • 1900, George Wilbur Peck, Peck’s bad boy and his pa, Stanton and Van Vliet, p. 107:

     …Pa said he guessed he hadn’t got much appetite, and he would just drink a cup of coffee and eat a donut.

2. (Canada, US) Anything in the shape of a torus
3. (Canada, US, automobile) a peel-out or skid-mark in the shape of donut; a 360-degree skid.
4. (Canada, US) A spare tire, smaller and less durable than a full-sized tire, only intended for temporary use.
5. A toroidal cushion typically used by hemorrhoid patients.

Usage notes

This spelling was rare until 1950s, increasingly popular since then,^[2] possibly influenced by spread of Dunkin' Donuts (founded 1950).^[3]

Translations

References

1. ↑ George Wilbur Peck, Peck’s bad boy and his pa, 1900, Stanton and Van Vliet, p. 107
2. ↑ “donut, doughnut”, Google Ngram viewer
3. ↑ “The Language Time Machine: Google’s Ngram Viewer gave us a new way to explore history, but has it led to any real discoveries?”, by Elizabeth Weingarten, Slate, Sept. 9, 2013

French

Noun

donut m ‎(plural donuts)

1. doughnut (deep-fried piece of dough or batter)

Portuguese

Noun

donut m (plural donuts)

1. doughnut (deep-fried piece of dough or batter)

Synonyms

• rosquinha

Spanish

Noun

donut m ‎(plural donuts)

1. donut, doughnut