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Glite Dictionary
spinach beet

spinach beet

4.2
A leafy vegetable grown for its leaves and stalks instead of its root
  • noun
  • /ˈspɪnɪtʃ biːt/
  • UK
translation icon : acelga
  • Many gardeners choose to grow spinach beet for its flavorful and nutritious leaves.

Examples

  • Unlike regular beetroot, spinach beet does not develop a large, edible root.

  • The spinach beet can be harvested multiple times throughout the growing season.

  • I love adding spinach beet to my salads.

  • Have you tried spinach beets in your smoothies?

  • Many gardeners choose to grow spinach beet for its flavorful and nutritious leaves.

  • I love adding spinach beet to my salads for extra greens.

  • The spinach beet can be harvested multiple times throughout the growing season.

Synonyms

chard
vsspinach beet
8 4.8

A leafy vegetable with large green leaves and thick stems eaten cooked or raw

is a regional alternative name emphasizing the same leafy use rather than the root
Swiss chard
vsspinach beet
3 3.0

A leafy green vegetable with large leaves and thick colorful stalks

is another regional label for the same edible-leaf plant
beet green
vsspinach beet
1 3.5

Young leaves of the beet plant that you can cook or eat in salads

refers to the whole leafy variety rather than only young leaves
Beta vulgaris cicla
vsspinach beet
  • Specialized
6.7

A leafy green vegetable with large edible leaves and thick stalks used like spinach

is the common, informal name used instead of the scientific term
leaf beet
vsspinach beet
3.5

A vegetable with large green leaves and thick stalks that people grow for its edible stems and leaves

stresses the leafy harvest as opposed to underground parts

Antonyms

root vegetable
5 2.4

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

Surface Forms

spinach beet singular
spinach beets plural

Morphology

spinach + beet

The compound combines two concrete food nouns where the first noun ('spinach') specifies the use/quality of the second ('beet'), so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it is a beet used like spinach (i.e., grown for edible leaves/stalks). This noun+noun compositional pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

The name spinach beet comes from joining spinach and beet: its leaves look and are used like spinach, but the plant is a beet. So the name tells you it is 'a beet grown for its edible leaves and stalks' rather than for a large root.