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  

/ səˈɡwɑːrəʊ, səˈwɑːrəʊ, səˈwɑː- /

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

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Etymology

Origin of saguaro

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saguaro saguaros

Hiking through Sabino Canyon beneath towering saguaro cactuses, the empty trails felt vast and lonely.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

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

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

From Reuters ● Jul. 27, 2023

The Arizona desert, filled with giant saguaro cactuses, looming palm trees and menacing terrain, with the powerful sun always beaming above, has a beauty that evokes feelings of freedom and possibility.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

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

The cultural shift began years ago in Phoenix, and many residents now take pride in their saguaros and palo verde trees, and post snapshots of bobcats and roadrunners in their yards.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 20, 2023

In the gathering dusk, the saguaros flung shadows of giants across the pebbled earth.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

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