cactus

American  

[kak-tuhs] / ˈkæk təs /

noun

plural

cacti, cactuses, cactus

1. any of numerous succulent plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm, arid regions of the New World, having fleshy, leafless, usually spiny stems, and typically having solitary, showy flowers.

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cactus British  

/ kækˈteɪʃəs, ˈkæktəs /

noun

1. any spiny succulent plant of the family Cactaceae of the arid regions of America. Cactuses have swollen tough stems, leaves reduced to spines or scales, and often large brightly coloured flowers

2. a double-flowered variety of dahlia

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Usage

Plural word for cactus The plural form of cactus can be either cacti, cactuses, or cactus. Cacti is most commonly used. Like many words derived from Latin, it is pluralized by replacing the -us ending with -i, as in fungus/fungi and nucleus/nuclei. However, the plural form cactuses, created by adding the typical -es to the end, is also correct. This alternative plural form is also acceptable for some other Latin-derived or related terms, as in focus/foci/focuses and radius/radii/radiuses.

Other Word Forms

• cactaceous adjective
• cactoid adjective
• cactuslike adjective

Etymology

Origin of cactus

1600–10; < Latin < Greek káktos cardoon

Example Sentences

PHOENIX—On a desolate stretch of land dotted with cactuses some 30 minutes north of Phoenix, more than 30 cranes tower over a construction site 2½ times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

From The Wall Street Journal

It takes in the affluent enclaves of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and — where the urban sprawl finally yields to cactus, palo verde and other flora — Carefree and the Old West-themed Cave Creek.

From Los Angeles Times

The streets of the Catalina Foothills are lined with Arizona's iconic, giant three-armed Saguaro cacti – and throngs of journalists, investigators and neighbours fixated on the disappearance of the mother of TV presenter Savannah Guthrie.

From BBC

The video for Opalite premiered on Friday, and stars Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson as a "lonely man" who summons Swift into his life by spraying a magic potion on his beloved cactus.

From BBC

It’s a picture of a cactus and the words, I’m prickly.

From Literature