dough

American  

[doh] / doʊ /

noun

• doughs
  plural

1. flour or meal combined with water, milk, etc., in a mass for baking into bread, cake, etc.; paste of bread.

2. any similar soft, pasty mass.

3. Slang. money.

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dough British  

/ dəʊ /

noun

1. a thick mixture of flour or meal and water or milk, used for making bread, pastry, etc

2. any similar pasty mass

3. a slang word for money

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• doughlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• doughs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dough

before 1000; Middle English do ( u ) gh, do ( u ) h, dou ( e ), Old English dāg, dāh; cognate with Dutch deeg, Old Norse deig, Gothic daigs, German Teig

Explanation

Dough is a thick mixture of flour and other ingredients that can be kneaded, baked, and eaten. Bread dough needs to rise before you bake it in a hot oven. Many baked goods begin their lives as dough, including bread, rolls, and some cookies. Dough is stiff enough that you can shape it, pull pieces off of it, stretch it and knead it. Informally, dough can also mean "money." If your friend says, "I make so much dough waiting tables!" he probably means money, not cookie dough. The word comes from an Indo-European root that means "smear" or "knead."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dough doughs

“You’ve got air-conditioning fans on at the bakery so the air blows on the dough during proofing. It gets a skin on it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

Constantly choosing restaurants that cost $300 a person is tone-deaf, but only if you have communicated that you are not comfortable spending that kind of dough on eating out.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The justification for putting these schools in harm’s way is that the small programs need the dough for their athletic departments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Regular diners can progress through a bronze, silver and gold system unlocking perks from free dough balls to hot and soft drinks on the house.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

The only thing Ella had ever stolen in her whole life was a dollop of raw cookie dough when Gran turned her back in the kitchen.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

You also need time: Almost all doughs in the book require at least an overnight fermentation to improve their flavor, rise and handling capability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Psst, the pizzeria does offer some walk-in orders when doors open at 4 p.m., but management discourages customers from lining up since there usually aren’t that many surplus doughs available.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2023

The highly rated Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer in Empire Red from KitchenAid can produce nine dozen cookies in a single take, as well as cakes, doughs and other torments for the Keto-obsessed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2022

The more complex chapters include interstitial essays describing techniques such as tempering chocolate, the chemistry of sugar, the best way to frost a cake and how to master pastry doughs like a pro.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2022

In expanding, the gas pushes up the batters or doughs, and these, when baked, set, or harden, into porous shapes.

From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 1: Essentials of Cookery; Cereals; Bread; Hot Breads by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

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