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.
"Me and my daughter, we made ours last night," says Hilary Lindgren, 54, wearing an eye-catching head-to-toe outfit, with a carrot cake in hand.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 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
This expertise is a valuable diplomatic carrot in the era of climate change.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
That had been the ultimate incentive of emigration: the android servant as carrot, the radioactive fallout as stick.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
