cactus
/ˈkæktəs/noun, adjective
cactus is spelled C-A-C-T-U-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cactus means “Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cactus is cacti or cactuses.
How many letters and syllables are in cactus?
| Letters | 6: C-A-C-T-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cactus?
Cactus appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cactus?
- UK /ˈkæktəs/
- UK /ˈkæktʌs/
- US /ˈkæktəs/
Cactus has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cactus.ogg, EN-AU_ck1_cactus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cactus
- cacti plural
- cactuses plural
- cactusses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cactus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any member of the family Cactaceae, a family of flowering New World succulent plants suited to a hot, semi-desert climate.
- 2
Any succulent plant with a thick fleshy stem bearing spines but no leaves, such as euphorbs.
- 3
A vivid green color inspired by the color of cacti.
adjective
- 1
AustraliaslangNon-functional, broken, exhausted, dead.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cactus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense member of the Cactaceae:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cactus come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).