saguaro

noun sa·gua·ro \ sə-ˈwär-ə , -ˈgwär- , -ō \

|Updated on: 29 Jul 2018

Definition of saguaro

plural saguaros

: a tall columnar usually sparsely-branched cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) of dry areas of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico that bears white flowers and a scaly reddish edible fruit and that may attain a height of up to 50 feet (16 meters) — called also giant cactus

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Recent Examples of saguaro from the Web

As Michael Greshko reports, U.S. and Mexican agencies helped protect the bat’s food source, like agaves and saguaro.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "Once Rare Nectar-Feeding Bat Removed From U.S. Endangered Species List," 20 Apr. 2018
After April, the park’s collection of cacti, which include ocotillo, yucca, hedgehog, saguaro, and aloes, share their regal blooms.

— Sunset, "Where to See Wildflowers This Season," 22 Jan. 2018
The results won’t be as precise in other parts of the country where the algorithm has not been trained on local conditions—a redwood tree or saguaro cactus looks nothing like a willow oak.

— bill gourgey, WIRED, "How Artificial Intelligence Could Prevent Natural Disasters," 10 July 2018
Bobcats have been known to climb tall trees and even saguaros, a type of cactus that can grow up to 66 feet tall.

— caitlin o'kane, CBS News, "Bobcat sitting on top of tall cactus goes viral after being spotted by 2 bikers," 19 June 2018
Some council members gravitated to the site near White Tank Mountain Regional Park, the largest park in Maricopa County with approximately 30,000 acres dotted with saguaros and rugged mountain landscape.

— lorraine longhi, azcentral, "Time for the West Valley to get into resort market?," 25 May 2018
Last September, Amazon politely returned a giant saguaro cactus that Tucson economic development officials had sent in hopes of landing the company's coveted headquarters expansion.

— russ wiles, azcentral, "Amazon announces 1,500-job distribution center in Tucson," 16 May 2018
Just north of Greenway Road was wild desert, dirt roads through foothills, crazy saguaros with owl nests hanging out.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Publishing the Best of the Desert: An Interview With Ken Layne," 25 Apr. 2018
At the base lies the saguaro-and-brittlebush landscape of the Sonoran Desert.

— Sunset, "Where to Embark on a Sky Island Adventure," 22 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'saguaro.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Venture into the Arizonan desert on a May or June morning and you may see the saguaro in bloom. For many of our readers (such as those living in Arizona and southeastern California), this sight - and the word saguaro - won't be anything new. Or perhaps you know this emblem of all things Southwestern simply as the "giant cactus." The word saguaro originated in Ópata, a language spoken by peoples of the Sonoran Desert region of Mexico. It came into English by way of the Spanish spoken by the Mexican settlers of the American West. The very saguaros we see today may well have been around when the word was first noted, some 150 years ago - this amazing cactus can live for up to 200 years.