carrot
Americannoun
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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.
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the nutritious, orange to yellow root of this plant, eaten raw or cooked.
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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)
noun
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an umbelliferous plant, Daucus carota sativa, with finely divided leaves and flat clusters of small white flowers See also wild carrot
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the long tapering orange root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable
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something offered as a lure or incentive
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reward and punishment as methods of persuasion
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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.
The stubborn squash that won’t soften, the freezer-end chicken that smells faintly metallic, the limp carrot you almost tossed: time, heat and gentle attention coax them into flavor, texture and presence.
From Salon
The idea is that a combination of carrots and sticks will encourage people to gradually increase their in-office time without explicitly telling them to do so.
Extra shredded carrots were saved for bread or pickled for a salad.
From Salon
But Watkins is hoping for a strong finish to the season with the carrot of making the England squad for next year's World Cup.
From Barron's
Mandy Carter, also from Reddish, told BBC Radio Manchester: "Each week is different, so it could be potatoes, onions, tomatoes and carrots to help make things like soup."
From BBC
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.
