any desert plants of the cactus family, native to the New World, with fleshy stems, reduced or spinelike leaves, and often showy flowers
Origin:
ModL < Gr kaktos, kind of thistle, cardoon
adjective
designating a family (Cactaceae) of dicotyledonous plants (order Caryophyllales), including the prickly pear, saguaro, and cereus
See cactus in American Heritage Dictionary 4
nounpl.cac·ti(-tīˌ) or cac·tus·es
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.