sweet potato

noun

1

: a tropical vine (Ipomoea batatas) of the morning-glory family that is often grown for its edible tuberous root or for its ornamental variously shaped green to purple leaves and usually white to pinkish funnel-shaped flowers with pink to purple centers

also : the large thick sweet and nutritious tuberous root of the sweet potato that has beige, yellow, orange, red, or purple flesh and is cooked and eaten as a vegetable compare yam sense 2

2

: ocarina

Examples of sweet potato in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

How many calories in a sweet potato? Sweet potatoes are not only nutritious but also lower in calories than many people realize. —Daryl Austin, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2025

Potato flour and sweet potato flour (not to be mistaken for potato starch) as well as wheat starch can be found at many Asian grocery stores and online. —Christine Wong, Saveur, 6 Aug. 2025

For example, a 3.5-ounce serving of raw sweet potato can contain up to 496 mg of oxalates, while the same amount of regular potato has around 17 mg.4 7. —Lindsey Desoto, Verywell Health, 22 June 2025

Dinner, later that night, is celebratory — hummus, sweet potato, pasta and homemade sauce. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 12 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1750, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sweet potato

• adagio
• altiplano
• arapaho
• arapahoe
• manifesto
• medicago
• minangkabau
• oregano
• ostinato
• pistachio
• politico
• portfolio

Kids Definition

sweet potato

noun

1

: a tropical vine related to the morning glories and having variously shaped leaves and purplish flowers

also : its large sweet starchy root that is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

2

: ocarina