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.
An 80-year-old man celebrated his birthday by commissioning a 6,000-pound carrot cake.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
Cakes and desserts are a big inspiration for his team, and they're proud of a new hot cross bun inspired by carrot cake.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
“I’d much prefer the carrot, but I’m not afraid of the stick,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
It accumulated in higher concentrations throughout the plant, including the edible carrot roots, tomato fruits, and lettuce leaves.
From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026
Amanda was always waiting on the other side to give Buttons a piece of apple or carrot or some of the new pony feed they'd bought.
From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene
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.
