carrot

[kar-uht]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrot¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrot¹

C16: from Old French carotte, from Late Latin carōta, from Greek karōton; perhaps related to Greek karē head

Example Sentences

When Gemini for Home rolls out, you can say, “Set a timer for roasted carrots”—Gemini will ask appropriate follow-ups and start a countdown.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

They had another eight albums between then and 2009, including Rings Around The World, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001 and featured Sir Paul McCartney eating carrots and celery.

Read more on BBC

You’ll find “vegetable casserole,” a swamp of canned onions, frozen peas and carrots, cream of celery soup and a splash of milk.

Read more on Salon

As people in the audience spread their curtido, or pickled cabbage and carrots, on their pupusas, others await for their food with anticipation, while some choose to stick to drinks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Anything that will be used across multiple recipes — onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, herbs, sweet potatoes, celery — gets chopped, batched, and set aside all at once.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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