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Glite Dictionary
root crop

root crop

1 3.4
A plant with a large part under the ground that people eat, like a potato or carrot
  • noun
  • /ruːt krɒp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cultivo de raíz
  • Farmers often cultivate root crops like potatoes and carrots to ensure a variety of food throughout the winter.
  • harvested root crops
  • important root crops

But a root crop really is just beets.

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Examples

  • During the harvest season, we gathered various root crops from the garden, including beets and turnips.

  • In many regions, root crops are essential for food security as they can be stored for long periods.

  • But a root crop really is just beets.

    MIgardener

  • And potatoes, root crops of any kind, they need like fluffy soil to form really well.

  • So I don't typically do this method with root crops with the exception of onions.

    MIgardener

  • There's that, but root crops are good for protecting against colds, too!

    Burnt Flowers (2024)

  • Another really great root crop planting combo so that I love our beets and turnips planted together.

    Epic Gardening

  • Nimiipuu women harvested root crops by prying them back and loosening the soil with a digging stick.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Two tropical root crops, cassava and tanier, have also gotten a boost from ARS research at Mayaguez.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The subsistence of the Sawiyano consists primarily of sago, hunted game, gardened root crops, and fish.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

vegetable
vsroot crop
545 1.0

A plant or plant part eaten as food, usually not sweet

is narrower focusing on plants cultivated for enlarged underground storage organs
root vegetable
vsroot crop
5 2.4

A vegetable that grows under the ground like a carrot or potato

is grown specifically for enlarged underground storage organs used as food

Surface Forms

root crop singular
root crops plural

Morphology

root + crop

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'root' (the underground plant organ) + 'crop' (plants grown for food); a B1 learner who knows both words can infer that it refers to crops harvested for their roots. This noun-noun compound follows common compounding patterns and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, so the sense is transparent to learners.

Etymology

Root crop comes from a simple farming image: the edible part is the thick root that grows under the ground and the crop is what farmers dig up. That's why it means 'a plant grown mainly for its enlarged roots'.