carcinoma

noun

car·​ci·​no·​ma ˌkär-sə-ˈnō-mə 

plural carcinomas also carcinomata ˌkär-sə-ˈnō-mə-tə 

: a malignant tumor of epithelial origin

carcinomatous

ˌkär-sə-ˈnō-mə-təs 

adjective

Examples of carcinoma in a Sentence

four deaths attributable to carcinoma

Recent Examples on the Web

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a type of cancer affecting the part of the throat that connects the back of the nose to the back of the mouth, had the highest risk among the cancer types investigated. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025

He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer, after an asthma flare turned out to be a large mass blocking his airway. —Bhavya Ancha, Baltimore Sun, 7 June 2025

Compounding this was a squamous cell carcinoma that surfaced on my dad’s lower lip earlier this year — one that, thankfully, was fully removed with a Mohs procedure, leaving him with a small scar and some permanent numbness. —Claire Sullivan, Footwear News, 30 May 2025

Last December, just two years after her husband died of brain cancer, the 60-year-old’s annual mammogram revealed a 2-centimeter invasive ductal carcinoma in the milk duct in her right breast. —Nicola Bridges, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek karkinōma cancer, from karkinos

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing carcinoma

• squamous cell carcinoma

Rhymes for carcinoma

• ambystoma
• atheroma
• coloboma
• granuloma
• haematoma
• hamartoma
• hemangioma
• hematoma
• hepatoma
• hybridoma
• melanoma
• myeloma

Kids Definition

carcinoma

noun

car·​ci·​no·​ma ˌkärs-ᵊn-ˈō-mə 

plural carcinomas or carcinomata -mət-ə 

: a tumor that consists of epithelial cells and is often fatal if not treated

Medical Definition

carcinoma

noun

car·​ci·​no·​ma ˌkärs-ᵊn-ˈō-mə 

plural carcinomas also carcinomata -mət-ə 

: a malignant tumor of epithelial origin compare sarcoma

carcinomatous

-ˈō-mət-əs 

adjective