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Glite Dictionary
to dangle a carrot

to dangle a carrot

1 4.4
Offer a small reward to make someone do something
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : prometer una recompensa
  • But at the same time, Wells Fargo was dangling a carrot on a stick (loan modification) and leading us along, stalling while the foreclosure date got closer.
  • dangle a carrot in front

Examples

  • Despite the challenges, the company dangled a carrot in the form of promotions to encourage employees to work harder.

  • All I had to do was dangle a carrot.

    The Sweeney (2012)

  • The manager dangled a carrot in front of the team by promising a bonus if they met their sales targets.

  • To motivate the students, the teacher dangled a carrot by offering extra credit for those who completed the project early.

Synonyms

to motivate
vsto dangle a carrot
437 3.5

Make someone want to do something

relies especially on promising a reward rather than any motive
to tempt
vsto dangle a carrot
146 3.3

Try to make someone want to do something, often something wrong or unwise

aims to encourage desired behavior with a promised reward, not wrongdoing
to entice
vsto dangle a carrot
61 4.9

To persuade someone to do something by offering something they want

relies on a clear promised reward without deceptive implication
to seduce
vsto dangle a carrot
53 5.9

Persuade someone to give up duties or beliefs by offering something attractive

focuses on motivating desired actions with a reward, not moral collapse
to incentivize
vsto dangle a carrot
  • Formal
26 5.5

Give people a reward to make them do something

uses an everyday promise of reward rather than formal policy tools
to offer a carrot
vsto dangle a carrot
  • Informal
3.7

To give a small reward, like money or time off, to encourage someone to do something

uses a reward promise as a lure rather than general motivation
to use a carrot
vsto dangle a carrot
  • Informal
4.2

Offer a reward to encourage someone to do something

uses a promised reward specifically to entice desired behavior

Antonyms

to deter
94 5.6

Make someone less likely to do something by making them fear bad results

How Enticing

to bribe
140 4.1
to dangle a carrot
  • Informal
1 4.4
to tempt
146 3.3
to benefit
676 2.3

Surface Forms

dangle a carrot infinitive

Morphology

dangle + a + carrot

The literal words 'dangle' (to hang enticingly) and 'carrot' (a desirable item) combine to suggest holding a lure out of reach to motivate someone, so the metaphorical sense of offering an incentive is inferable. However, interpreting 'carrot' as a conventional metaphor for a promised reward and mapping the physical image to the abstract idea of enticing is somewhat culture-dependent and metaphorical, so a B1 learner may not fully predict the idiomatic use without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom dangle a carrot comes from the picture of someone holding a carrot on a stick and dangling it just out of reach in front of a donkey so the animal moves forward trying to get it. So, 'dangle a carrot' means to offer a reward or promise to make someone do something.