cancer

noun can·cer \ ˈkan(t)-sər \

|Updated on: 3 Jul 2018

Examples: cancer in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of cancer

1 capitalized

a : a northern zodiacal constellation between Gemini and Leo

b (1) : the fourth sign of the zodiac in astrology — see Signs of the Zodiac Table

(2) : one born under the sign of Cancer

I'm a Taurus, but my best friend is a Cancer.

[Latin, crab, cancer]

a : a malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally by invasion and systemically by metastasis

b : an abnormal bodily state marked by such tumors

3 : something evil or malignant that spreads destructively

the cancer of hidden resentment
—Irish Digest

4 a : an enlarged tumorlike plant growth (such as that of crown gall)

b : a plant disease marked by such growths

—

cancerous

play \ˈkan(t)s-rəs, ˈkan(t)-sə-\ adjective

—

cancerously

adverb

See cancer defined for English-language learners

See cancer defined for kids

Examples of cancer in a Sentence

He was diagnosed with cancer.
She learned that she has cancer.
Eating certain foods may help reduce the risk of cancer.
Advanced cancers are more difficult to treat.
I'm a Taurus, but my best friend is a Cancer.

Recent Examples of cancer from the Web

The hope is for the test to become standardized care for breast cancer treatment and detection.

— Essence.com, "The Quick Read: Queen Latifah Says 'It's Only A Matter Of Time' Before We Get A 'Girls Trip' Sequel," 28 June 2018
With Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, undergoing cancer treatment, Republicans have the slimmest of majorities: 50-49.

— New York Times, "With Roe in the Balance, Two Republicans Hold High Court in Their Hands," 28 June 2018
The legendary stage parent and music manager was reportedly battling terminal cancer.

— andrea park, CBS News, "Joe Jackson, Michael and Janet Jackson's father, dead at 89," 27 June 2018
And the party has no votes to spare in the full Senate, since the GOP's majority stands at 51 and Flake’s senior colleague, John McCain, is home for brain cancer treatment.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Sen. Flake’s pledge to block Trump judges could force showdown on trade," 25 June 2018
As Tarek underwent cancer treatment, he and Christina were also trying to have a second child via in vitro fertilization.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "What Really Led to Christina and Tarek El Moussa's Divorce," 25 June 2018
Little cancer crab water sign 🦀 #postcardfrombazaar A post shared by Kerry Pieri (@kerrypieri) on Apr 9, 2018 at 7:41am PDT Best Hangout Spot: Why the beach, bien sur.

— kerry pieri, Harper's BAZAAR, "How to Vacation Like a Royal in Nevis," 25 June 2018
Constellation, which develops cancer treatments using its expertise in the mechanisms governing gene regulation, raised at least $280 million in venture funding.

— christopher zinsli, WSJ, "Five Drug Startups Reveal Plans to Join Biotech IPO Blitz," 22 June 2018
Lonie told me she had battled lymphoma, a cancer that begins in blood cells and can spread to vital organs.

— ted slowik, Daily Southtown, "Slowik: Rich Central High School helps teacher raise money to build home for family in Honduras," 22 June 2018

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

Did You Know?

The Latin word cancer, meaning “crab,” was also given as a name to several diseases. One of the diseases was the abnormal, spreading mass of tissue we call a tumor. A possible explanation for this extended use of cancer is that the Romans thought some tumors looked like many-legged crabs. A French descendant of this Latin word was borrowed into English as canker. It is now applied to several plant and animal disorders. In the 14th century the Latin word cancer in the sense of “tumor” was borrowed directly into English, giving us our modern spelling and sense.

Origin and Etymology of cancer

Middle English, from Latin (genitive Cancri), literally, crab; akin to Greek karkinos crab, cancer

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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CANCER Defined for English Language Learners

cancer

noun

Definition of cancer for English Language Learners

: a serious disease caused by cells that are not normal and that can spread to one or many parts of the body
: something bad or dangerous that causes other bad things to happen
Cancer : the fourth sign of the zodiac that comes between Gemini and Leo and has a crab as its symbol