cancer
cancer Lexical Profile
cancer Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A serious disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body, or a malignant growth or tumor resulting from such cell division.
"Advances in early screening and targeted therapies have significantly improved survival rates for many types of cancer."
A northern constellation (the Crab) situated along the ecliptic between Gemini and Leo, or the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters around the summer solstice (June 21).
"Using a small backyard telescope, we were able to spot the Beehive Cluster nestled within the constellation Cancer."
A practice, condition, or phenomenon that is pernicious, destructive, and spreads relentlessly through a society or organization.
"The reform committee warned that unchecked corruption was acting as a cancer within the municipal government."
• Rhymes for cancer
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'cancer', borrowed from Latin 'cancer' meaning both 'crab' and 'malignant tumor'. The Latin term served as a calque of Ancient Greek 'karkinos' ('crab'), applied to tumors by Greek physicians like Hippocrates and Galen because the swollen veins surrounding a tumor resembled the limbs of a crab.