carrot

noun

car·​rot ˈker-ət 

ˈka-rət

1

: a biennial herb (Daucus carota of the family Apiaceae synonym Umbelliferae, the carrot family) with a usually orange spindle-shaped edible root

also : its root

2

: a reward or advantage offered especially as an inducement

The company offered a carrot in the form of additional vacation time to workers who met their deadlines.

Examples of carrot in a Sentence

She chopped some carrots for the soup.

He added some grated carrot to the soup.

The company offered a carrot in the form of additional vacation time to workers who met their deadlines.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sauté onions, garlic, celery, carrots and green onions until tender. —Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025

With no carrot and only a stick hanging over them, the filmmakers are done playing nice. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 18 Feb. 2025

Herring was essentially contending that making buprenorphine widely available required more carrots, but also a few sticks. —Moises Velasquez-Manoff Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Zak Mouton, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025

The soft baguette was stuffed with juicy chicken breast in a yellow curry sauce, onions, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño and sweet pickled daikon and carrots. —Kim Bojórquez, Axios, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French carotte, from Late Latin carota, from Greek karōton

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing carrot

• carrot-and-stick
• carrot cake
• wild carrot

Rhymes for carrot

• barret

Kids Definition

carrot

noun

car·​rot ˈkar-ət 

: the long orange edible root of a common garden plant that is eaten as a vegetable

also : a plant that produces a carrot

Medical Definition

carrot

noun

car·​rot ˈkar-ət 

: a biennial plant of the genus Daucus (D. carota) that bears seeds which have been used especially as a diuretic and stimulant and that in cultivated varieties has a yellow or orange-red tapering root which is used as a vegetable

also : its root