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.
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.
cactus dahlia a double-flowered variety of dahlia
[C17: from Latin: prickly plant, from Greek kaktos cardoon]
c.1600, from L. cactus "cardoon," from Gk. kaktos, name of a type of prickly plant of Sicily (the Spanish artichoke), perhaps of pre-Hellenic origin. Modern meaning is 18c., because Linnaeus gave the name to a group of plants he thought were related to this but are not.
n. peyote cactus containing mescaline. (Drugs.) : Gert came back from vacation with a bag of cactus buttons.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition. Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
The barbs stick into you and you pull a segment of the cactus off.
Magnificent, spherical cactus covered with bright yellow curved spines.
Soft focus shots of a cactus, water in a river, a desert.
Or adding a touch of softness to a cactus and succulent garden.
Not for the palm by the door or the tall cactus, but for the distinguished architects who are hanging out in the upper corners.
Discover what else shares this ecosystem with saguaro cactus.
Cactus wrens call and mourning doves flutter in and out of the skirts.
Large species are favorite nest sites for cactus wrens, thrashers and verdins.
We planted pink and coral decorative dahlias and a red-and-yellow, cactus-flowered variety.
On this remote, cactus-strewn shoreline, the sea is a dazzling shade of green.