sweet potato

noun

a plant, Ipomoea batatas, of the morning glory family, grown for its sweet, edible, tuberous roots.
the root itself, used as a vegetable.
Informal. ocarina.

Origin of sweet potato

An Americanism dating back to 1740–50

Can be confusedcassava sweet potato yam

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sweet potato

Historical Examples of sweet potato

Papa found a little bug this morning on the sweet-potato vines.
Harper's Young People, June 22, 1880
Various
I ricollec' it was sweet-potato pie, an' it was scorched on one side.
Moriah's Mourning and Other Half-Hour Sketches
Ruth McEnery Stuart
It was all I could do to make out an order for asparagus and sweet-potato plants.
Dwellers in Arcady
Albert Bigelow Paine
Then he put a sweet-potato in a glass jar half filled with water.
Harper's Young People, March 22, 1881
Various
The Sweet-potato, Yam, and Artichoke are all of the same character.
The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking
Helen Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for sweet potato

sweet potato

noun

a convolvulaceous twining plant, Ipomoea batatas, of tropical America, cultivated in the tropics for its edible fleshy yellow root
the root of this plant

Also called (NZ): kumara

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012