beet

noun

ˈbēt 

: a biennial garden plant (Beta vulgaris) of the goosefoot family that includes several cultivars (such as Swiss chard and sugar beet) and that has thick edible leaves with long petioles and often swollen purplish-red roots

also : its root used especially as a vegetable, as a source of sugar, or for forage

Examples of beet in a Sentence

I've planted carrots, parsnips, and beets in the garden.

Recent Examples on the Web

The brewery partners with Recycled City, a local composting business, to grow squash, carrots and beets from the compost soil. —Jack Armstrong, The Arizona Republic, 18 June 2024

Like instead of using food dyes in Hailey's pint, vegetable juice made from organic beets and organic carrots give it its pretty color. —Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 4 June 2024

The ingredients are zero-proof aquavit, beet juice, orange acid, young Thai coconut, and mace mist (the warm spice, not personal-safety pepper spray). —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 May 2024

Advertisement In this set of salad recipes, two are completely raw, two require use of the stove and one involves roasting beets in the oven. —Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bete, from Old English bēte, from Latin beta

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing beet

• beet armyworm
• beet leafhopper
• beet red
• red as a beet
• sugar beet

Kids Definition

beet

noun

ˈbēt 

: a garden plant with thick long-stalked edible leaves and usually an enlarged purplish red root used as a vegetable, as a source of sugar, or as food for livestock

also : this root