Link Centre Dictionary

carrot

car·rot

UK/ˈkæɹət/ US/ˈkæɹət/ fairly common slang uk

noun

1.
2.
3.
4.

promise of reward as in "carrot and stick"

  • “used the carrot of subsidized housing for the workers to get their vote”

Origin

Inherited from Middle English karette and Middle French carotte, both from Latin carōta, from Ancient Greek καρωτόν (karōtón). Doublet of carotte and related to caraway. Displaced native Middle English more, from Old English more, moru (“edible root, parsnip, carrot”), related to German Möhre (“carrot”). * Noun sense of "motivational tool" refers to carrot and stick. * Verb sense in felt manufacture refers to the orange colour of drying furs.

Phrases

  • baby carrot
  • baby-cut carrot
  • Camberwell carrot
  • carrot and stick
  • carrot bacon
  • carrot bag
  • carrot beetle
  • carrot cake

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.