Carrot

Recently harvested carrots

Carrot is the common name for a root vegetable whose scientific name is Daucus carota and also the name of a punctuation mark with a similarly pointed shape. Figuratively, a "carrot" is a reward, contrasted to the notion of punishment in the expression "carrot and stick."

Homonyms

• carat: unit for measuring the weight of precious stones
• caret: alternate spelling of the name of the punctuation mark (^), sometimes called a "top hat"
• karat: unit for measuring the percentage of gold in a piece of metal (usually jewelry)