Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » cactuses
cactuses
Variant of cactus
cactus
definition
cac·tus (kak′təs)
noun pl. cactuses -·tuses or cacti -·ti′ (-tī′)
any desert plants of the cactus family, native to the New World, with fleshy stems, reduced or spinelike leaves, and often showy flowers
Etymology: ModL < Gr kaktos, kind of thistle, cardoon
adjective
designating a family (Cactaceae) of dicotyledonous plants (order Caryophyllales), including the prickly pear, saguaro, and cereus
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Browse dictionary definitions near cactuses
Share on Facebook