ficus

noun

fi·​cus ˈfī-kəs How to pronounce ficus (audio)
plural ficus or ficuses
: any of a genus (Ficus) of chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the mulberry family that have deciduous or evergreen leaves, often begin life as epiphytes, and include some (such as F. benjamina) grown as houseplants and others (such as F. carica) cultivated for their oblong or pear-shaped edible syconium fruit : fig entry 1 sense 1b compare banyan, rubber plant, strangler fig, weeping fig

Examples of ficus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Seedlings are the most vulnerable, but popular plants like lobelia, bougainvillea and some ficus are especially sensitive to cold, too. Sam Schulz, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024 Instead, consider a more forgiving variety of ficus: the pink-tinged ficus elastica ruby. Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2023 The original landscaping was simple, just a few trees, primarily ficus and pine, lots of yucca and a large lawn. Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2023 As hoped, the ficus grew huge, but its roots destroyed sidewalks and roads, leading many to be felled; the workers rooted themselves too, though unofficially, and were deported in large number as anti-immigrant sentiment grew. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023 Strike captains surmised the main draw for parents is the wide sidewalks, as well as the towering pines, maple, ficus and eucalyptus trees that offer shade along the route. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023 The city and some business owners blamed the ficus trees for leaving messy droppings, causing drainage issues, and damaging buildings and sidewalks. Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2023 The once-leafy ficus trees lining the sidewalks outside of the Universal lot got a haircut earlier this week. Curbed, 19 July 2023 On Wednesday morning, Mejia said the city had not issued permits for the ficus trees to be trimmed and had not issued any tree trimming permits for the location over the last three years. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 19 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ficus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Latin, fig

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ficus was in 1693

Dictionary Entries Near ficus

Cite this Entry

“Ficus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ficus. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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