carrot

[ kar-uht ]

noun

1. 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.
2. the nutritious, orange to yellow root of this plant, eaten raw or cooked.
3. something hoped for or promised as a lure or incentive: Compare stick ¹( def 8 ).

   To boost productivity, leaders hinted at the carrot of subsidized housing for the workers.

verb (used with object)

1. to treat (furs) with mercuric nitrate preparatory to felting.

carrot

/ ˈkærət /

noun

1. an umbelliferous plant, Daucus carota sativa, with finely divided leaves and flat clusters of small white flowers See also wild carrot
2. the long tapering orange root of this plant, eaten as a vegetable
3. 1. something offered as a lure or incentive
   2. reward and punishment as methods of persuasion

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrot¹

1525–35; < Middle French carotte < Late Latin carōta < Greek karōtón, derivative of kárē head, with suffix as in kephalōtón onion, derivative of kephalḗ head

Word History and Origins

Origin of carrot¹

C16: from Old French carotte, from Late Latin carōta, from Greek karōton; perhaps related to Greek karē head

Example Sentences

"Most of this year's festive adverts have fun at their heart - gnomes taking over Asda, a mystery whodunit at Waitrose, the welcome return of Kevin the Carrot at Aldi," said retail expert Catherine Shuttleworth.

From BBC

Aldi has brought back Kevin the Carrot for his ninth consecutive year.

From BBC

“You can apply absolutely any flavor profile to a loaf cake, but my favorite is still a plain one with lots of lemon zest and a little lemon juice added for flavor,” she said, before adding, “Also, carrot cake is delicious as a loaf.”

From Salon

In 2022, the Biden administration handed the American people a great big carrot to incentivize them to decarbonize: the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA.

From Salon

Every answer to the tougher question about whether this sort of change requires more stick than carrot is for now parried by Kendall.

From BBC

Related Words

• accolade
• advantage
• bonus
• bounty
• championship
• citation
• crown
• dividend
• gold
• honor
• inducement
• jackpot
• medal
• payoff
• purse
• reward
• scholarship
• title
• trophy
• windfall