carrot
noun /ˈkærət/
/ˈkærət/
Idioms 
enlarge image[uncountable, countable] a long pointed orange root vegetable- grated carrot
- a slice of carrot cake
- a pound of carrots
- a bag of baby carrots
- a glass of carrot juice
- carrot sticks (= long thin pieces)
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- raw
- cooked
- steamed
- …
- eat
- have
- cook
- …
- top
- cake
- juice
- …
- [countable] a reward promised to somebody in order to persuade them to do something synonym incentive
- They are holding out a carrot of $120 million in economic aid.
- It's a big carrot he's dangling in front of Marler's nose.
Extra ExamplesTopics Discussion and agreementc2- Even with the carrot of a free lunch it is unlikely that many people will turn up.
- In a market economy profits are the carrot that encourages firms to take risks.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + carrot- dangle
- hold out
- offer (somebody)
- …
- a carrot and stick
Word Originlate 15th cent.: from French carotte, from Latin carota, from Greek karōton.
Idioms
the carrot and (the) stick (approach)
- if you use the carrot and stick approach, you persuade somebody to try harder by offering them a reward if they do, or a punishment if they do not
- The emphasis is on the carrot of incentive rather than the stick of taxes.
Extra Examples- to adopt the carrot-and-stick approach
- He decided to use the carrot and stick approach.