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donut - What does it mean?

Definition of 'donut'

English

Alternative forms

* doughnut

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (North America) 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.
  • (North America) Anything in the shape of a torus
  • (North America|automobile) a peel-out or skid-mark in the shape of donut; a 360-degree skid.
  • (North America) A spare tire, smaller and less durable than a full-sized tire, only intended for temporary use.
  • A toroidal cushion typically used by hemorrhoid patients.

    • Usage notes

    Rare until 1950s, increasingly popular since then,“ donut, doughnut]”, Google Ngram viewer possibly influenced by spread of (w, Dunkin' Donuts) (founded 1950).“[http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/09/google_ngram_viewer_a_language_time_machine.html 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

    References

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    Similar to 'donut'

    dent, dont, daunt, demit, dint, dammit, damnit, dimwit, daint, dunt, donat, dennet, domett, dimit