sweet potato
Americannoun
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a plant, Ipomoea batatas, of the morning glory family, grown for its sweet, edible, tuberous roots.
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the root itself, used as a vegetable.
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Informal. ocarina.
noun
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a convolvulaceous twining plant, Ipomoea batatas, of tropical America, cultivated in the tropics for its edible fleshy yellow root
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the root of this plant
Etymology
Origin of sweet potato
An Americanism dating back to 1740–50
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.
The sweet potato coconut soup hit the spot.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
In the supermarket, bilingual signs pointed shoppers to bwyd môr in Welsh, or seafood, rather than boos mor, and tatws melys, or sweet potato, rather than aval dor melys.
From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026
My steak was cooked perfectly and complemented by the numerous sides, which include hen of the woods mushrooms, Japanese sweet potato and hand-cut black truffle fries.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2025
The question of whether "ducana" – a sweet potato and coconut dumpling – should or should not contain raisins has divided local residents for decades.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2025
Then Kasim says, “Dray’s mom makes the meanest sweet potato pie, right, Donna?”
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
