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

Start with the signature Pride of the Crowns salad or prime rib chili, then move into dishes like duck leg confit, mussel and shrimp piccata or sweet potato risotto. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026

In this container, sweet potato vine and trailing silvery dichondra lend extra texture and contrast. —Johanna Silver, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Mar. 2026

Add trailing and contrasting sweet potato vines (Ipomoea batatas) to your zinnia garden. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026

To honor the sweet potato, North Carolina’s state vegetable, the chefs will each highlight a sweet potato varietal. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026

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