saguaro

American  

[suh-gwahr-oh, -wahr-oh] / səˈgwɑr oʊ, -ˈwɑr oʊ /

noun

saguaros plural

1. a tall, horizontally branched cactus, Carnegiea (orCereus ) gigantea, of Arizona and neighboring regions, yielding a useful wood and bearing an edible fruit: still locally common, though some populations have been reduced.

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saguaro British  

/ səˈwɑː-, səˈɡwɑːrəʊ, səˈwɑːrəʊ /

noun

1. a giant cactus, Carnegiea gigantea, of desert regions of Arizona, S California, and Mexico, having white nocturnal flowers and edible red pulpy fruits

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• saguaros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of saguaro

1855–60, < Mexican Spanish saguaro, sahuaro, said to be < Opata (now extinct Uto-Aztecan language of Sonora)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saguaro saguaros

But it’s been worth it for the desert’s charms: the temperate winters and the cholla and saguaro growing on the hillsides — even as the city gets hotter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2023

At the Desert Botanical Garden, three of the treasured institution’s more than 1,000 saguaro cacti have toppled over or lost an arm in the last week, a rate that officials there say is highly unusual.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2023

Arizona's saguaro cacti, a symbol of the U.S.

From Reuters ● Jul. 27, 2023

Ms. Eiler said the O’odham believe that each saguaro embodies a human spirit.

From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2023

The only notable presence was a tall, dilapidated saguaro, a bundle of sticks, in worse shape than Archie’s Senor.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

Dozens of cars, some with their trunks opened to display camera equipment, were parked in the shadows of 30-foot saguaros.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Huachuca base sat another former shipping container, this one occupied by a drone pilot and a camera operator, who pivoted the drone’s camera to scan 9 square miles of shrubs and saguaros for the migrants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2025

Nurseries and landscapers are inundated with requests for help with saguaros or fruit trees that are losing leaves.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 2, 2023

She was joined among the saguaros by Mr. Lozano, who was more blunt.

From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2023

The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic saguaros.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli