Cactus Meaning
/ˈkæktəs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAny member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
nounAny succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.
Sentence Examples
Your lips are soft like the surface of a cactus.
Life is like licking honey off a cactus.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hiker accidentally brushed against a ____ and got needles stuck in his leg.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a plant that can live in the desert with very little water.
Word Origin & History
From taxonomic name Cactus, a name given in 1752 by Linnaeus for a genus of cacti (now superseded by the genus name Mammillaria), from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns."
— 1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 22:
"This was another experimental garden started under Dr. Berry as a ‘Nopalry’ or place for the rearing of the cochineal insect on cacti, which however, became a sort of experimental garden where exotic plants were received as they arrived in the Port of Madras and were nursed and looked after until they could be despatched to the interior stations."
— 1960, A. K. Yegna Narayan Aiyer, P. Abraham, Cultivation of Cloves in India (I.C.A.R. Bulletin), New Delhi: Indian Council of Agricultural Research, →OCLC, page 5:
"Three years later, the unwatered cactus was still about two feet tall, a dark green color. The watered cactus was a paler green, its trunk visibly swollen with moisture. It had grown to be over five feet tall."
— 2013, Leslie Morgan Steiner, The Baby Chase:
"I wouldn't mind throwing it away if it's cactus except for the VCR part which works fine, so then I'd be up for a new VCR as well."
— 2001 July 8, Dave, “TV Problems”, in aus.electronics (Usenet):
"I would say it's cactus. Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones."
— 2004 August 25, AC, “water damage ???”, in alt.cellular.nokia (Usenet):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hiker accidentally brushed against a ____ and got needles stuck in his leg.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a plant that can live in the desert with very little water.