prickly pear

American  

noun

prickly pears plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• prickly pears
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prickly pear

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prickly pear

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

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

Spanish rule brought tomatoes and chocolate to Sicilian pantries, while shipments of prickly pear cactus from the New World began a tradition of eating the fruit raw after meals that continues in Sicily today.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2023

After they had dumped water for the sheep, they went to burn the spines from the cholla and prickly pear.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko