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

The company is a supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the globe. —Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2024

The restaurant specializes in ultra-seasonal dishes and shareable plates, and a vegan highlight is the sweet potato falafel with muhammara, piccalilli and sumac froth. —Kaila Yu, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

At Container Village, business owners sell everything from sweet potato pies to handbags out of reconfigured shipping containers. —Trymaine Lee, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024

Chong dehydrates this sour black rice, grinds it into a powder, and sprinkles it atop a drink called Kuro Koji, adding a dramatic jet-black top to the cocktail of purple sweet potato, Okinawan rice distillate, sweet sake, shikuwasa, and koregusu. —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 2 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1750, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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