cactus

«cactus» in Mova's school dictionary: a plant that grows in hot, dry places such as deserts… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a cactus, cacti or cactuses)

meaning for a pupil

A cactus is a plant that grows in hot, dry places such as deserts, with a thick stem that stores water and usually sharp spines instead of leaves. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons cacti show adaptation: thick stems store water, spines protect them and lose less water than leaves, and long roots soak up rare rain. Phrases: «a prickly cactus», «cactus spines», «cactus flower».

examples

• A cactus can live in the desert for a long time without rain. tree →
• Don't touch the cactus; it's prickly! tree →
• My grandma has a cactus on her windowsill. tree →
• Some cacti have beautiful flowers. tree →
• The cactus stores water in its thick stem. tree →
• Camels can eat some cactus plants. tree →
• The tall saguaro cactus grows in Arizona. tree →

note

Plural: cacti (KAK-tie) or cactuses; both are correct. Myth: drinking water from a cactus is a good idea in the desert — most cactus juice makes you sick. Spines are sharp; handle with gloves.

In the corpora

• Cactus spines are leaves turned into spikes that guard the water inside and give a little shade.
• Look at cacti but do not touch them, because their spines go into skin and are hard to get out.
• Look at cacti but do not touch them; their spines go into skin and are hard to get out.
• Look at cacti but do not touch them: cactus spines go into skin and are hard to get out.
• Cacti store water in thick stems and have spines instead of broad leaves.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cactus» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.