night-blooming cereus

American

[nahyt-bloo-ming] / ˈnaɪtˌblu mɪŋ /

noun

any of various cacti of the genera Hylocereus, Peniocereus, Nyctocereus, or Selenicereus, having large, usually white flowers that open at night.

night-blooming cereus British

noun

any of several cacti of the genera Hylocereus, Selenicereus, etc, having large fragrant flowers that open at night

"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

Etymology

Origin of night-blooming cereus

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

night-blooming cereus

In describing the importance of journey in his pieces, Turrell mentions a night-blooming cereus known as the Queen of the Night.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2013

This shot of a man taking a picture of a night-blooming cereus in Arizona.

From Time Magazine Archive

Our night-blooming cereus is good enough for me.''

From Time Magazine Archive

Cousin Jasper," he said, "didn't I tell you that the gardener wanted you to know that the night-blooming cereus is open just now?

From The Windy Hill by Meigs, Cornelia

The beautiful night-blooming cereus, of which there are several species, is one of these.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023