saguaro

[ suh-gwahr-oh, -wahr-oh ]

noun

, plural sa·gua·ros.

1. a tall, horizontally branched cactus, Carnegiea (or Cereus ) gigantea, of Arizona and neighboring regions, yielding a useful wood and bearing an edible fruit: still locally common, though some populations have been reduced.

saguaro

/ səˈwɑː-; səˈɡwɑːrəʊ; səˈwɑːrəʊ /

noun

1. a giant cactus, Carnegiea gigantea, of desert regions of Arizona, S California, and Mexico, having white nocturnal flowers and edible red pulpy fruits

Word History and Origins

Origin of saguaro¹

1855–60, Americanism; < Mexican Spanish saguaro, sahuaro, said to be < Opata (now extinct Uto-Aztecan language of Sonora)

Word History and Origins

Origin of saguaro¹

Mexican Spanish, variant of sahuaro, an Indian name

Example Sentences

The road along the U.S. side of the 30-foot border wall here rises and falls like waves in a sea, unspooling past thicket, saguaro and washes left dry with no rain.

From Los Angeles Times

There, Ray and his team used a drought-tolerant blend of grasses for limited lawn areas, while the rest of the property was arrayed with native and desert-adapted plants, including ironwood trees and statuesque saguaros.

From Seattle Times

The efforts started in response to former President Donald Trump adding hundreds of miles of border walls that toppled untold numbers of saguaro cactuses in Arizona and passed through the biodiversity hotspot of Baja California.

From Seattle Times

The repair dates are mostly since spring, when the flat desert region dotted with saguaro cactus became the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.

From Seattle Times

But say you’re instead looking for a wide-angle shot of a “hot pink plastic saguaro cactus with large arms that stick out, surrounded by sand, in landscape at dawn.”

From Seattle Times