sweet potato

American  

noun

1. a plant, Ipomoea batatas, of the morning glory family, grown for its sweet, edible, tuberous roots.

2. the root itself, used as a vegetable.

3. Informal. ocarina.

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sweet potato British  

noun

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

2. the root of this plant

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Etymology

Origin of sweet potato

An Americanism dating back to 1740–50

Example Sentences

The sweet potato coconut soup hit the spot.

From The Wall Street Journal

And if you have room, get the sweet potato pie topped with berbere.

From Salon

I was at Sandy June’s and sweet potato fries were coming my way.

From Literature

“I remember my grandmother raising the chickens and the cows and the horses, and growing the greens, beans and sweet potatoes,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

Guernsey based nutritional therapist Carol Champion advised people with coeliac disease to eat more foods that were "naturally gluten free" such as potatoes, rice, oats and sweet potatoes, rather than buying too many ultra-processed foods.

From BBC