# doughnutting

Pronunciation: say "DOH-nut-ing" US /ˈdoʊˌnʌtɪŋ/, UK /ˈdəʊˌnʌtɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of doughnut. — present participle and gerund of doughnut
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of doughnut. Use this form for the action happening now or as a name for the activity.
   - _Backbenchers spent the whole debate doughnutting the prime minister so the cameras never showed an empty seat behind her._
   - _Doughnutting a nervous witness with six reporters is no way to get a calm answer._

## Noun

2. A way of dodging train fares by buying tickets that cover only the beginning and end of a journey, leaving the middle stretch unpaid. *(UK)*
   - Simple: Cheating on train fares by buying tickets only for the start and end of a journey.
   - _Commuters caught doughnutting on the busiest lines now face steep penalty fares._
   - _The rail company estimates that doughnutting costs it millions in lost revenue each year._

## Origin

From doughnut: when this method of fare evasion is used on the London Underground, the area covered by the ticket resembles a doughnut, with a hole in the middle.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/doughnutting (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).