cac·tus
(kăk′təs)n. pl. cac·ti (-tī′) or cac·tus·es
1. Any of numerous succulent, spiny, usually leafless plants of the family Cactaceae, native chiefly to arid regions of the Americas, having variously colored, often showy flowers with numerous stamens and petals.
2. Any of several similar plants.
[Latin, cardoon, from Greek kaktos.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cactus
(ˈkæktəs)n, pl -tuses or -ti (-taɪ)
1. (Plants) 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
2. (Plants) cactus dahlia a double-flowered variety of dahlia
[C17: from Latin: prickly plant, from Greek kaktos cardoon]
cactaceous adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cac•tus
(ˈkæk təs)n., pl. -ti (-tī), -tus•es, -tus.
any of numerous New World flowering plants of the family Cactaceae, of warm and arid regions, with succulent, leafless stems usu. bearing spines.
[1600–10; < Latin < Greek káktos cardoon]
cac′tus•like`, cac′toid, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
cac·tus
(kăk′təs) Plural cacti (kăk′tī′) or cactuses
Any of various plants that have thick, leafless, often spiny stems and grow in hot, dry places, chiefly in North and South America. Photosynthesis takes place in the stems of cacti, as the leaves have evolved into narrow spines to prevent water loss. Some kinds of cacti have brightly colored flowers and edible fruit.
Did You Know? The 2,000 species of cacti are known for living in extremely dry climates, such as the American Southwest. Cacti are excellent at conserving water. Their leaves are sharp spines, which have been known to cause great pain to animals interested in eating them. The spines also help the plant gather scarce water. Water vapor in the air condenses on the spines and then drips to the ground, where it is taken up by the roots. The roots are shallow and widely spread out to take advantage of this condensation and the rare desert rain showers. A cactus can be between 80 and 90 percent water, and its thick walls keep its water from evaporating. In fact, a cactus can be a thousand times better at conserving water than a different kind of plant of the same weight.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  cactus - any succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World and usually having spinesAcanthocereus pentagonus, Acanthocereus tetragonus, pitahaya, pitahaya cactus - cactus of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico having edible juicy fruit Aporocactus flagelliformis, rat's-tail cactus, rattail cactus - commonly cultivated tropical American cactus having slender creeping stems and very large showy crimson flowers that bloom for several days Ariocarpus fissuratus, living rock - usually unbranched usually spineless cactus covered with warty tubercles and having magenta flowers and white or green fruit; resembles the related mescal; northeastern Mexico and southwestern United States Carnegiea gigantea, saguaro, sahuaro - extremely large treelike cactus of desert regions of southwestern United States having a thick columnar sparsely branched trunk bearing white flowers and edible red pulpy fruit night-blooming cereus - any of several cacti of the genus Cereus coryphantha - a cactus of the genus Coryphantha echinocactus, barrel cactus - any cactus of the genus Echinocactus; strongly ribbed and very spiny; southwestern United States to Brazil hedgehog cereus - cactus of the genus Echinocereus rainbow cactus - a stout cylindrical cactus of the southwest United States and adjacent Mexico epiphyllum, orchid cactus - any cactus of the genus Epiphyllum having flattened jointed irregularly branching stems and showy tubular flowers barrel cactus - a cactus of the genus Ferocactus: unbranched barrel-shaped cactus having deep ribs with numerous spines and usually large funnel-shaped flowers followed by dry fruits Easter cactus, Hatiora gaertneri, Schlumbergera gaertneri - spring-blooming South American cactus with oblong joints and coral-red flowers; sometimes placed in genus Schlumbergera night-blooming cereus - any of several cacti of the genus Hylocereus chichipe, Lemaireocereus chichipe - tall treelike Mexican cactus with edible red fruit Lophophora williamsii, mescal, mezcal, peyote - a small spineless globe-shaped cactus; source of mescal buttons mammillaria - any cactus of the genus Mammillaria feather ball, Mammillaria plumosa - a low tuberculate cactus with white feathery spines; northeastern Mexico garambulla, garambulla cactus, Myrtillocactus geometrizans - arborescent cactus of western Mexico bearing a small oblong edible berrylike fruit Knowlton's cactus, Pediocactus knowltonii - small clustering cactus of southwestern United States; a threatened species nopal - any of several cacti of the genus Nopalea resembling prickly pears prickly pear, prickly pear cactus - cacti having spiny flat joints and oval fruit that is edible in some species; often used as food for stock cholla, Opuntia cholla - arborescent cacti having very spiny cylindrical stem segments; southwestern United States and Mexico mistletoe cactus - a plant of the genus Rhipsalis Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera baridgesii, Schlumbergera buckleyi - epiphytic cactus of Brazilian ancestry widely cultivated as a houseplant having jointed flat segments and usually rose-purple flowers that bloom in winter night-blooming cereus - any of several night-blooming cacti of the genus Selenicereus crab cactus, Schlumbergera truncatus, Thanksgiving cactus, Zygocactus truncatus - South American jointed cactus with usually red flowers; often cultivated as a houseplant; sometimes classified as genus Schlumbergera succulent - a plant adapted to arid conditions and characterized by fleshy water-storing tissues that act as water reservoirs |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
صَبَّارصبّـار ، صَبْر
kaktus
kaktus
kakto
صباره خنجری
kaktus
kaktus
kaktusz
kaktus
サボテン
선인장
kaktusas
kaktuss
kaktus
kaktus
kaktus
ตะบองเพชร
cây xương rồng
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
cactus
n → Kaktus m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
cactus
(ˈkӕktəs) – plurals ˈcacti (-tӕi) ˈcactuses – noun a prickly plant whose stem stores water.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
cactus
→ صَبَّار kaktus kaktus Kaktus κάκτος cactus kaktus cactus kaktus cactus サボテン 선인장 cactus kaktus kaktus cacto, cato кактус kaktus ตะบองเพชร kaktüs cây xương rồng 仙人掌Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
cactus
n (pl -ti) cactus m, cactoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.