CEREUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Cereus mean? 

• CEREUS (noun)
  The noun CEREUS has 1 sense:

1. genus of much-branched treelike or shrubby cacti with pronounced ribs and rounded needlelike spines and nocturnal flowers usually white

  Familiarity information: CEREUS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CEREUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Genus of much-branched treelike or shrubby cacti with pronounced ribs and rounded needlelike spines and nocturnal flowers usually white

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Cereus; genus Cereus

Hypernyms ("Cereus" is a kind of...):

caryophylloid dicot genus (genus of relatively early dicotyledonous plants including mostly flowers)

Meronyms (members of "Cereus"):

night-blooming cereus (any of several cacti of the genus Cereus)

Holonyms ("Cereus" is a member of...):

Cactaceae; cactus family; family Cactaceae (constituting the order Opuntiales)

 Context examples 

Any bacterial organism that can be assigned to the species Bacillus cereus.

(Bacillus cereus, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

B. cereus is found in soil and associated with diarrheal and emetic forms of food-borne illness as well as opportunistic infections in both humans and domestic animals.

(Bacillus cereus, NCI Thesaurus)