cactus

CEFRB2

/ˈkæktəs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A desert plant with thick stems and sharp spines.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.

Examples

  • Life is like licking honey off a cactus.

  • Your lips are soft like the surface of a cactus.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Non-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.

  2. Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.

More examples

In context

  • On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns.

  • I would say it's cactus. Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones.

  • ‘It′s cactus,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The hiker accidentally brushed against a blank and got needles stuck in his leg.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From taxonomic name Cactus, a name given in 1752 by Linnaeus for a genus of cacti (now superseded by the genus name Mammillaria), from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.