strangler
Britishnoun
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a person or thing that strangles
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a plant, esp a fig in tropical rain forests, that starts as an epiphyte but sends roots to the ground and eventually forms a tree with many aerial roots, usually killing the host
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He spotted a strangler fig and described how it sprouted from a seed that found purchase in the high crotch of another species, slowly sent roots to the ground, and ultimately choked its host.
From National Geographic • Jan. 23, 2024
Driving west from El Hormiguero toward the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the road wends through ceibas, strangler figs, and sapodillas, a tree prized since Maya times for its chicle gum.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 11, 2023
She had a special animus for English ivy, that invasive strangler of native trees.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2016
"Deadly nightshade - a favourite poison in medieval times - is another potential strangler," he explains.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2015
He secreted the strangler seeds in one of them, threw open his door, and called, "Pylos? Where are you?"
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.