| carrot and stick a carrot and stick (approach) rewards and punishments that influence someone's behavior. Our company uses a carrot and stick — more money is the carrot, loss of your job is the stick. Usage notes: used in different forms to describe different combinations of rewards and punishments: Management's proposed deal is all stick and no carrot. The latest round of peace talks offers both sides the carrot as well as the stick. Etymology: based on the reward of a carrot (= a long orange vegetable) and the punishment of using a stick to encourage a horse to move |