strangler
Britishnoun
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a person or thing that strangles
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a plant, esp a fig in tropical rain forests, that starts as an epiphyte but sends roots to the ground and eventually forms a tree with many aerial roots, usually killing the host
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.
He spotted a strangler fig and described how it sprouted from a seed that found purchase in the high crotch of another species, slowly sent roots to the ground, and ultimately choked its host.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024
Driving west from El Hormiguero toward the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the road wends through ceibas, strangler figs, and sapodillas, a tree prized since Maya times for its chicle gum.
From Science Magazine ● Oct. 11, 2023
Gnarled strangler figs twisted up toward the sky.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
Despite doubts thrown on DeSalvo’s claim, Bailey always maintained that DeSalvo was the strangler.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2021
They came to drier soil with strangler figs splitting the rocks.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
