beet

noun

ˈbēt 

: a biennial garden plant (Beta vulgaris) of the amaranth family that includes several cultivars (such as Swiss chard and sugar beet) and that has thick edible leaves with long petioles and often swollen purplish-red roots

also : its root used especially as a vegetable, as a source of sugar, or for forage

Examples of beet in a Sentence

I've planted carrots, parsnips, and beets in the garden.

Recent Examples on the Web

Six or seven different fruits and vegetables might find their way into a kimchi rice bowl or a citrus beet bowl or a crispy rice salad. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2025

The spread boasts 10 styles, from classic half and full sours, to krauts, pickled beets and tomatoes. —Anna Spiegel, Axios, 3 Jan. 2025

Badger Flame beets from Row 7 Seed company are one example. —Kim Severson, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024

Potatoes, yams, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, radishes, carrots, squash, greens. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bete, from Old English bēte, from Latin beta

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing beet

• beet armyworm
• beet leafhopper
• beet red
• red as a beet
• sugar beet

Kids Definition

beet

noun

ˈbēt 

: a garden plant with thick long-stalked edible leaves and usually an enlarged purplish red root used as a vegetable, as a source of sugar, or as food for livestock

also : this root