cactus
/ˈkæktəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.40 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
name
Example Sentences
- "On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns."
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "I would say it's cactus. Water conducts & destroys components & PCBs very easily. Hence the water-resistant phones."
- "‘It′s cactus,’ Rod, the helicopter pilot, said at the sound of the piston ring shattering."
Etymology
Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos)bor. Latin cactusbor. Translingual Cactusbor. English cactus From taxonomic name Cactus, a name given in 1752 by Linnaeus for a genus of cacti (now superseded by the genus name Mammillaria), from Latin cactus, from Ancient Greek κάκτος (káktos, “cardoon”), possibly of Pre-Greek origin.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Cactus, κάκτος
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæktəs/
- British English: /ˈkæktəs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Aaron's beard cactus
Aaron's-beard cactus
agave cactus
apple cactus
ball cactus
balloon cactus
barbed-wire cactus
barrel cactus