Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,733,583,834 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

cactus

   Also found in: Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
cac·tus  (kkts)
n. pl. cac·ti (-t) or cac·tus·es
1. Any of various succulent, spiny, usually leafless plants native mostly to arid regions of the New World, having variously colored, often showy flowers with numerous stamens and petals.
2. Any of several similar plants.

[Latin, cardoon, from Greek kaktos.]

cactus [ˈkæktəs]
n pl -tuses, -ti [-taɪ]
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / 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
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants)
cactus dahlia a double-flowered variety of dahlia
[from Latin: prickly plant, from Greek kaktos cardoon]
cactaceous  [kækˈteɪʃəs] adj
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.cactuscactus - any succulent plant of the family Cactaceae native chiefly to arid regions of the New World and usually having spines
Cactaceae, cactus family, family Cactaceae - constituting the order Opuntiales
Acanthocereus 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
Translations
cactus [ˈkæktəs] (cactuses, cacti (pl)) [ˈkæktaɪ] Ncacto m, cactus m inv

cactus [ˈkæktəs] [cacti] [ˈkæktaɪ] (pl) ncactus m

cactus
nKaktus m

cactus [ˈkæktəs] n (cactuses or cacti (pl)) [ˈkæktaɪ]cactus m inv
cactus [ˈkæktəs] n (cactuses or cacti (pl)) [ˈkæktaɪ]cactus m inv

cactus
n cactus [ˈkӕktəs]
a prickly plant whose stem stores water. kaktus صبّـار ، صَبْر кактус kaktus kaktus der Kaktus κάκτος cactus kaktus کاکتوس kaktus cactus קַקטוּס कैक्टस kaktus kaktusz kaktus kaktus cactus さぼてん 선인장 kaktusas kaktuss kaktus cactus kaktus kaktus cacto cactus кактус kaktus kaktus kaktus kaktus พืชจำพวกหนึ่งไม่มีใบพบมากในแถบทะเลทราย kaktüs 仙人掌 кактус تھور کا پودا cây xương rồng

cactus صبار kaktus kaktus Kaktus κάκτος cactus kaktus cactus kaktus cactus サボテン 선인장 cactus kaktus kaktus cacto кактус kaktus ตระบองเพชร kaktüs cây xương rồng 仙人掌


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Beyond, the shore, strewed over with these rocks like gravestones, ascended, in form of an amphitheater among mastic-trees and cactus, a sort of small town, full of smoke, confused noises, and terrified movements.
--Not the scissors, thank you, Charlotte, when both my hands are full already--I'm perfectly certain that the orange cactus will go before I can get to it.
The peninsula is traversed by stern and barren mountains, and has many sandy plains, where the only sign of vegetation is the cylindrical cactus growing among the clefts of the rocks.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.