Skip to main content
Berlin doughnut

Berlin doughnut

5.2
A sweet fried dough ball filled with jam and covered in sugar
  • noun
  • /bɜrˈlɪn ˈdoʊnʌt/
  • UK
translation icon : berlina
  • I bought a Berlin doughnut from the bakery, and it was filled with raspberry jam.

Examples

  • At breakfast, Lisa enjoyed a fresh Berlin doughnut dusted with sugar alongside her coffee.

  • The cafe is famous for its Berlin doughnuts, which are made with homemade berry preserves.

  • I love Berlin doughnuts!

  • Have you tried a Berlin doughnut?

  • At breakfast, Lisa enjoyed a fresh Berlin doughnut dusted with sugar alongside her coffee.

  • I bought a Berlin doughnut from the bakery, and it was filled with raspberry jam.

  • The cafe is famous for its Berlin doughnuts, which are made with homemade berry preserves.

Synonyms

donut
vsBerlin doughnut
  • US
134 1.0

A small sweet fried cake usually shaped like a ring or filled

is specifically a yeast deep fried sweet filled with jam and often dusted
jelly doughnut
vsBerlin doughnut
7 1.3

A soft round fried sweet bread filled with jam

is deep fried and often dusted with sugar
bismark
vsBerlin doughnut
  • US
1 9.5

A raised doughnut filled with jam

is deep fried and often dusted with sugar
raised doughnut
vsBerlin doughnut
  • US
2.6

A doughnut made with yeast that is light and fluffy

is specifically filled with jelly and often dusted with sugar

Surface Forms

Morphology

Berlin + donut

The meaning—a type/variety of doughnut associated with Berlin—is directly compositional from 'Berlin' (a place name) + 'doughnut' (a fried sweet), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a kind of doughnut. This place‑name + noun pattern is cross‑linguistically common for food names (e.g., 'Paris steak', 'Italian bread'), making the MWE transparent.

Etymology

Berlin doughnut comes from a German sweet called a 'Berliner'. A 'Berliner' is a ball of sweet fried dough filled with jam, so the name now means 'a jam-filled fried doughnut'.