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cactus
[kak-tuhs]
noun
plural
cacti, cactuses, cactus.any of numerous succulent plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm, arid regions of the New World, having fleshy, leafless, usually spiny stems, and typically having solitary, showy flowers.
cactus
/ kækˈteɪʃəs, ˈkæktəs /
noun
any spiny succulent plant of the family Cactaceae of the arid regions of America. Cactuses have swollen tough stems, leaves reduced to spines or scales, and often large brightly coloured flowers
a double-flowered variety of dahlia
Other Word Forms
- cactuslike adjective
- cactoid adjective
- cactaceous adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of cactus1
Word History and Origins
Origin of cactus1
Example Sentences
The back of the barbershop he manages features a mural of the Virgen de Guadalupe, a cactus plant and a Mexican flag.
Among the cactuses in the desert of Arizona, just outside Phoenix, an extraordinary collection of buildings are emerging that will shape the future of the global economy and the world.
The energy company behind it, Colombian firm Isagen, has paid for them to have access to clean drinking water, better roads, and sturdy brick houses, which have replaced some of the mud and cactus ones.
“I feel like I’m rolling around in cactus all the time,” she told me.
The acquisition kept the land out of the hands of a developer with plans to carve its spectacular rock ranges, lava flows, sand dunes, valleys and cactus gardens into 40-acre ranches.
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When To Use
The plural form of cactus can be either cacti, cactuses, or cactus. Cacti is most commonly used. Like many words derived from Latin, it is pluralized by replacing the -us ending with -i, as in fungus/fungi and nucleus/nuclei. However, the plural form cactuses, created by adding the typical -es to the end, is also correct. This alternative plural form is also acceptable for some other Latin-derived or related terms, as in focus/foci/focuses and radius/radii/radiuses.
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