carrot

1. [uncountable and countable] a long pointed orange vegetable that grows under the ground:
grated carrots
carrot juice
2. [countable] informal something that is offered to someone in order to try and persuade them to do something:
They have refused to sign the agreement despite a carrot of £140 million.
3. carrot and stick informal a way of trying to persuade someone to do something by offering them something good if they do it, and a punishment if they do not:
the government’s carrot and stick approach in getting young people to find jobs

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

carrot

car·rot [carrot carrots] [ˈkærət] [ˈkærət] noun

1. uncountable, countable a long pointed orange root vegetable
• grated carrot

• a pound of carrots

2. countable a reward promised to sb in order to persuade them to do sth
Syn: 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.
Idiom: carrot and stick
Word Origin:
late 15th cent.: from French carotte, from Latin carota, from Greek karōton.
Example Bank:
• to adopt the carrot-and-stick approach
• Even with the carrot of a free lunch it is unlikely that many people will turn up.
• He decided to use the carrot and stick approach.
• In a market economy profits are the carrot that encourages firms to take risks.
• It's a big carrot he's dangling in front of Marler's nose.

• They are holding out a carrot of $120 million in economic aid.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

carrot / kær.ət / / ker- / noun [ C or U ] (VEGETABLE)

carrot A2 a long pointed orange root eaten as a vegetable

carrot / kær.ət / / ker- / noun [ C ] informal (REWARD)

C2 something that is offered to someone in order to encourage them to do something

carrot-top / kær.ət.tɒp / / ker.ət.tɑp / noun [ C ] informal

a person whose hair is an orange colour:
Joe's blond and Rosie's a carrot-top.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

carrot

[kæ̱rət]
carrots
1) N-VAR Carrots are long, thin, orange-coloured vegetables. They grow under the ground, and have green shoots above the ground.
2) N-COUNT Something that is offered to people in order to persuade them to do something can be referred to as a carrot. Something that is meant to persuade people not to do something can be referred to in the same sentence as a `stick'.
→ See also carrot and stick
  They will be set targets, with a carrot of extra cash and pay if they achieve them...
  Why the new emphasis on sticks instead of diplomatic carrots?
  Syn:
  incentive

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

carrot

car·rot /ˈkerət/ noun, pl -rots
1 : the long orange root of a plant that is eaten as a vegetable

[count]

• She chopped some carrots for the soup.

[noncount]

• He added some grated carrot to the soup.

2 [count] informal : something that is offered as a reward or advantage to persuade a person to do something
• The company offered a carrot in the form of additional vacation time to workers who met their deadlines.
✦This sense of carrot is often contrasted with stick, which suggests a punishment for not doing something.
• He'll have to choose between the carrot and the stick.
• The administration was criticized for its carrot-and-stick approach to foreign policy.