Carrot Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms carrot American [kar-uht] / ˈkær ət /

noun

1. a plant, Daucus carota, of the parsley family, having pinnately decompound leaves and umbels of small white or yellow flowers, in its wild form a widespread, familiar weed, and in cultivation valued for its edible root.

2. the nutritious, orange to yellow root of this plant, eaten raw or cooked.

3. something hoped for or promised as a lure or incentive.

   To boost productivity, leaders hinted at the carrot of subsidized housing for the workers.

verb (used with object)

1. to treat (furs) with mercuric nitrate preparatory to felting.

carrot British / ˈkærət /

noun

1. an umbelliferous plant, Daucus carota sativa, with finely divided leaves and flat clusters of small white flowers See also wild carrot

2. the long tapering orange root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable

3. 1. something offered as a lure or incentive

   2. reward and punishment as methods of persuasion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of carrot

1525–35; < Middle French carotte < Late Latin carōta < Greek karōtón, derivative of kárē head, with suffix as in kephalōtón onion, derivative of kephalḗ head

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“If you don’t have basil, you can make it with parsley, even carrot tops,” Chavez says.

From Salon

Not one to throw carrots, lest you want carrots thrown at you, if you get my meaning.”

From Literature

I would ask him to take me into the storehouse and let me choose as much as I wanted: honey, oats, apples, onions, carrots.

From Literature

Coach to that end markets its bestselling Tabby bag as a versatile item that works in contexts including school and work, accessorized with any of dozens of charms from cutesy carrots to diamante bows.

From The Wall Street Journal

This expertise is a valuable diplomatic carrot in the era of climate change.

From Barron's

Related Words

• accolade
• advantage
• bonus
• bounty
• championship
• citation
• crown
• dividend
• gold
• honor
• inducement
• jackpot
• medal
• payoff
• purse
• reward
• scholarship
• title
• trophy
• windfall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.