carrot
/ˈkarət
/noun
1A tapering orange-coloured root eaten as a vegetable: roast lamb with peas and carrots [mass noun]: grated carrot [as modifier]: carrot cake carrot juice...
- Besides carrots, other root vegetables include turnips, parsnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas.
- The accompanying vegetables, peas, carrots and broccoli disappointed a little because they seemed to be overcooked.
- It came with seasonal vegetables including cauliflower, carrots, new potatoes and sliced courgettes.
2A cultivated plant of the parsley family with feathery leaves, which yields carrots.
- Daucus carota, family Umbelliferae: two subspecies and many varieties; wild forms lack the swollen root.
- The hand weeding can be combined with thinning in the case of the vegetables that require it, such as lettuce, carrots and Florence fennel.
- In addition, biennial weeds such as musk thistle, wild carrot, and burdock should be eliminated before establishing forage.
3An offer of something enticing as a means of persuasion (often contrasted with the threat of something punitive or unwelcome): carrots will promote cooperation over the environment far more effectively than sticks Compare with stick1 (sense 3).We then asked ourselves which approach was actually preferable to persuade them: the carrot or the stick?...
- For juveniles in this category, the Youth Drug Court Program offers both a carrot and a stick.
- I do support a carrot and a stick approach, in terms of encouraging firstly, more healthy lifestyles and more healthy living.
With allusion to the proverbial encouragement of a donkey to move by enticing it with a carrot
4 (carrots) informal, chiefly derogatory A nickname for a red-haired person: He pulled her red plaits and said in a loud whisper, ‘Carrots! Carrots!’
Origin
Late 15th century: from French carotte, from Latin carota, from Greek karōton.