beet

American  

[beet] / bit /

noun

1. any of various biennial plants belonging to the genus Beta, of the amaranth family, especially B. vulgaris, having a fleshy red or white root.

2. the edible root of such a plant.

3. the leaves of such a plant, served as a salad or cooked vegetable.

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beet British  

/ biːt /

noun

1. any chenopodiaceous plant of the genus Beta , esp the Eurasian species B. vulgaris , widely cultivated in such varieties as the sugar beet, mangelwurzel, beetroot, and spinach beet See also chard

2. the leaves of any of several varieties of this plant, which are cooked and eaten as a vegetable

3. the US name for beetroot

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Other Word Forms

• beetlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of beet

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bete, Old English bēte, from Latin bēta

Example Sentences

Mr Hoyles, who is growing the olives alongside more conventional crops such as wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and peas said he had installed wind turbines and solar panels to improve energy self-sufficiency.

From BBC

This year, the last factory that turned sugar beets into sugar in California shut down, leading to the elimination of hundreds of jobs in the Imperial Valley.

From Los Angeles Times

In the same central train stations of that city, old women then sold carrots and beets from cardboard boxes they had lugged from their country homes.

From Salon

“As it is, we have a name and no rubles. And all because of those beets!”

From Literature

His face was beet red and, judging from his tone of voice, he was in a foul mood, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.

From Literature

Related Words

• chard