cactus

noun

cac·​tus ˈkak-təs 

plural cacti ˈkak-ˌtī 

-(ˌ)tē

or cactuses also cactus

: any of a family (Cactaceae, the cactus family) of plants that have succulent stems and branches with scales or spines instead of leaves and are found especially in dry areas (such as deserts)

Examples of cactus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This super-simple but spicy recipe is inspired by years of lazy Sunday afternoons spent on friends’ rooftops or patios in Mexico City, grilling meat and cactus paddles, pouring micheladas. —Tribune News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025

An Arizona Game and Fish Department officer removed hundreds of Cholla cactus spines from the skin of a baby deer in northwestern Arizona. —Axios Phoenix, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025

All this addresses the plants specifically in the fascinating Cactaceae, the cactus plant family. —Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Mar. 2025

Ocotillo at regular intervals, palo verde and round barrel cacti, one saguaro cactus then thousands of others, arms akimbo. —Hazlitt, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, genus name, from Latin, cardoon, from Greek kaktos

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cactus

• barrel cactus
• cactus wren
• Christmas cactus
• giant cactus
• organ pipe cactus
• prickly pear cactus
• queen of the night cactus
• rattail cactus

Rhymes for cactus

• actus
• practice
• practise
• tractus
• malpractice

Kids Definition

cactus

noun

cac·​tus ˈkak-təs 

plural cacti -ˌtī 

-(ˌ)tē

or cactuses also cactus

: any of a large family of flowering plants able to live in dry regions and having fleshy stems and branches that bear scales or prickles instead of leaves