carrot
Americannoun
-
carrots
plural
-
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.
-
the nutritious, orange to yellow root of this plant, eaten raw or cooked.
-
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
-
an umbelliferous plant, Daucus carota sativa, with finely divided leaves and flat clusters of small white flowers See also wild carrot
-
the long tapering orange root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable
-
-
something offered as a lure or incentive
-
reward and punishment as methods of persuasion
-
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Explanation
A carrot is a long, orange root vegetable. Carrots can be planted as tiny seeds and grown in a backyard garden. Carrots are a popular vegetable to eat raw on their own, or chopped and tossed in a salad. You can also cook carrots, or grate them and make a carrot cake. You might also use the word carrot to mean an implied reward, especially in the phrase "carrot and stick," which comes from the idea of enticing a donkey or mule forward with a carrot, or punishing it for not moving by hitting it with a stick.
Vocabulary lists containing carrot
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.
See Examples For:
Cook the carrots: Cook the carrot, butter, brown sugar, zest and salt over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and jammy.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"I write fairly dark stuff, so it's actually lovely to go out in the morning and hand-feed the pygmy goats or the rabbits little bits of carrot and lettuce," James added.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
After the dozens of well-heeled guests in attendance tucked into New York strip steaks and carrot cake, Kielpinski called on them to open their wallets and donate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Her carrot cake calls for a buttercream made with fromage frais, a lighter version of American cream cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Sometimes she would give him half her last carrot, and later in bed she would cry about it.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Even when the tomatoes are gone and the bread stall is picked clean, you can usually find some jar of something sharp, spicy and brined: giardiniera, hot peppers, spicy dills, pickled carrots.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The plant material included cultivated wheat, carrots, maize, bananas and peanuts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
“People have tried various carrots like free-bagel Wednesdays, and those kind of things didn’t go over real well.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Its menu includes gussied-up side dishes like honey-glazed carrots with whipped feta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Aki, I’ll help fry the carrots extra-special,” Hanako said.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
