Doughnut vs Donut
Published January 19, 2023. Updated January 19, 2023.
Unlike many other words, doughnut and donut actually mean the same thing; however, one is a variant of the other commonly used in American English. A doughnut is a noun that refers to a “circular cake that is usually sweet.” It can also be used to refer to “anything with a round shape,” such as when cars do “doughnuts” by spinning around in circles. Likewise, donut is simply a shortened variation of doughnut that is commonly used in American English. However, the word is neither correct nor common.
Here are some example sentences that show the different uses of each word.
Doughnut (noun)
A circular cake that is usually sweet; anything with a round shape.
Examples:
The bakery sells the most incredible doughnuts, especially during the holidays.
I heard that the kid next door got arrested for doing doughnuts in his dad’s car.
As we can see, doughnut functions as both a noun that is describing the dessert treat and anything round or circular. This spelling is the grammatically correct way to write doughnut.
Donut (noun)
A variant spelling of doughnut common in American English
Examples:
She asked me if I wanted to go with her to get some donuts, but I was not hungry anymore.
Many people get donut and doughnut confused, but they are essentially the same word.
Even though donut has the same usage as doughnut, it is still considered to be “incorrect.”
Main Points
- Doughnut is a noun that refers to a sweet, baked, circular treat.
- Donut is a noun that is a variation of the word doughnut, but it is not technically correct to use.
- Remember that donut means the same thing as doughnut, but while it is a “real” word, it is not technically correct to use it.