beet

noun

ˈbēt 

: a biennial garden plant (Beta vulgaris) of the amaranth 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

Plant beets 6 to 8 weeks before the first frost in your region, about mid-August if the first frost is in October or November. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2025

Direct sow the first fall season crop of beets, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes, and turnips. —Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2025

Add aphrodisiacs like apples, avocados, beets, dark chocolate, strawberries, and oysters to your routine. —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 5 Aug. 2025

This paddle grater works equally well on firm vegetables like beets and carrots and soft cheeses. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 July 2025

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

Rhymes for beet

• beat
• bleat
• cheat
• cleat
• creat
• deet
• eat
• feat
• feet
• fleet
• greet
• heat

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