cholla

[ chohl-yah, -yuh; Spanish chaw-yah ]

noun,plural chol·las

[chohl-yahz, -yuhz; Spanish chaw-yahs]. /ˈtʃoʊl yɑz, -yəz; Spanish ˈtʃɔ yɑs/.

any of several spiny treelike cacti belonging to the genus Opuntia, especially O. fulgida of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having knobby outgrowths and yellow spines.

Origin of cholla

First recorded in 1855–60, Americanism; from Mexican Spanish cholla “head” (perhaps from dialectal Old French cholle “ball,” from Germanic)

Words that may be confused with cholla

chola, cholla

Words Nearby cholla

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cholla in a sentence

As they strolled through a cholla forest, one of the hikers discovered a chunk of cactus stuck to the tip of his shoe.
How to remove cactus spines (including ones stuck in your throat) | Kate Baggaley | October 4, 2021 | Popular-Science
The so-called jumping cholla doesn’t really jump, but once it catches onto you the barbed spines stay put.
How to remove cactus spines (including ones stuck in your throat) | Kate Baggaley | October 4, 2021 | Popular-Science
Here and elsewhere in the Phoenix region, keep an eye out for teddy-bear cholla.
Arizona's Best Trails for Every Kind of Hiker | Outside Editors | April 1, 2021 | Outside Online
He had scratches on his wrist, maybe from a cholla cactus or from sleeping under a mesquite tree.
Arizona's Immigrant Death Spiral | Bryan Curtis | July 28, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
The dried heaps of cholla stirred as if unseen paws had pressed them.
The Heart of the Desert | Honor Willsie Morrow

As they reached the open trail, thrush and to-hee fluttered from the cholla.
The Heart of the Desert | Honor Willsie Morrow
cholla, a suburb of Catamarca, is inhabited wholly by Calchaqui Indians, a remnant of the original inhabitants of this region.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 | Various
The designation “Cane Cacti” is also applied to the cholla in allusion to their stems, from which cactus canes are manufactured.
The Fantastic Clan | John James Thornber
The fruit becomes dry after ripening, and like many a cholla fruit remains green upon the plant for a year or even longer.
The Fantastic Clan | John James Thornber

British Dictionary definitions for cholla

cholla

/ (ˈtʃəʊljɑː, Spanish ˈtʃoʎa) /

noun

any of several spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia that grow in the southwestern US and Mexico and have cylindrical stem segments: See also prickly pear

Origin of cholla

Mexican Spanish, from Spanish: head, perhaps from Old French (dialect) cholle ball, of Germanic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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