donut

Everyday

1. A donut is a small, sweet, fried cake, often shaped like a ring with a hole in the middle or a ball filled with jam or cream. tree →
2. Something shaped like a ring can be called a donut shape (in maths, a torus). tree →
3. (informal, mainly US) Doing donuts means driving a car round and round in tight circles, leaving round skid marks. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life a treat from a bakery; in maths problems donuts are counted, shared and sold in boxes (a dozen = 12). In geometry a donut shape is called a torus. Phrases: a box of donuts, jam donut, glazed donut.

Examples

• I'd like a chocolate donut with sprinkles, please. tree →
• A box holds 12 donuts. tree →
• The jam donut squirted when I bit into it. tree →
• We shared 18 donuts among 6 friends, so each got 3. tree →
• A ring-shaped donut has a hole in the middle. tree →
• Dad bought a dozen donuts for the class party. tree →
• The cake was shaped like a giant donut. tree →

Note

«Donut» is the common American spelling; «doughnut» is the usual British, Irish, Australian and traditional spelling — both are correct. Plural: donuts. In maths: «a dozen donuts» = 12; «half a dozen» = 6.