prickly pear

American  

noun

1. any of numerous cacti of the genus Opuntia, having flattened, usually spiny stem joints, yellow, orange, or reddish flowers, and ovoid, often edible fruit.

2. the usually prickly fruit of such a cactus.

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prickly pear British  

noun

1. any of various tropical cacti of the genus Opuntia, having flattened or cylindrical spiny joints and oval fruit that is edible in some species See also cholla nopal

2. the fruit of any of these plants

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Etymology

Origin of prickly pear

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

On Camino Escalante, Guthrie’s squat, orange brick house is set back from the road behind a lawn planted with prickly pear, agave, cholla and yucca.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

In a thicket of prickly pear cacti near Valencia, Spain, a troop of predatory ants moves in for the kill.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 12, 2024

Over three decades, neighborhood foresters have transformed Dunbar Spring’s bald curbsides into lush forests of mesquite, hackberry, cholla and prickly pear cactus and more—all plants that have edible parts.

From Salon • Jan. 29, 2024

Begay Sr. uses a walking stick to wind past pockets of yellow flowers, heavily trafficked anthills and the occasional prickly pear.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 30, 2023

Then I took out through the forest of prickly pear.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson