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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sweet potato

Other examples include combinations like purple sweet potato ice cream, cheesecake with carrot compote, or chocolate bars loaded with salty potato chips.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Xu, whose mother died when he was a year old, recalled in a speech how he ate only sweet potato and steamed bread in his school years.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

They’re vegetarians: They eat grass, alfalfa, cassava, sweet potato, carrots, beets, and, at the zoo, a commercial feed.

From Slate ● May 27, 2026

The first time I used it, I remember slicing into a sweet potato — the dense, orange flesh giving way so cleanly it almost felt like the knife was doing the work on its own.

From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2026

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

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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