noun
cactus
KAK-tuhs
noun
1
A spiny, fleshy-stemmed plant, usually leafless, adapted to hot, dry desert climates.
"A single cactus sat on her windowsill, needing almost no watering."
adj
1
(Australian slang) Broken, ruined, or dead.
"The old washing machine is cactus — time for a new one."
How to Use Cactus
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA spiky desert plant; in Australian slang, "done for" or broken.
Common pairings
prickly cactus
cactus garden
Word Forms
cacti plural, cactuses plural, cactusses plural, cactus plural
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A single _____ sat on her windowsill, needing almost no watering.
Etymology
From the taxonomic genus name Cactus, coined by Linnaeus in 1752, from Ancient Greek kaktos, originally the name for a spiny thistle-like plant.