carrot
carrot definition
car·rot (kar′ət)
noun
- a biennial plant (Daucus carota) of the umbel family, with fernlike leaves and compound umbels of white flowers, usually with one red flower in the center: only the cultivated variety is edible
- the fleshy, orange-red root of the cultivated strain of this plant (var. sativa), eaten as a vegetable
- something offered as a tantalizing but deceptive inducement, like a carrot dangled before a donkey's nose
Etymology: MFr carotte < L carota < Gr karōton, carrot; akin to kara, head: see horn
carrot Idioms
carrot and stick
pleasant inducements or promised rewards coupled with threats
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Share on Facebook