cancer
- 1An illness in which cells in part of the body increase in number without control, often very fast.
My uncle was treated for cancer last year, and now he is healthy again.
Wearing sunscreen helps protect your skin from cancer.
UsageSay he has cancer, with no a. Kinds include skin cancer and lung cancer.
Similarmalignancy
- 2The star sign of the crab, ruled by the Moon, for people born from late June to late July.
My sister was born on July 4, so her star sign is Cancer.
The horoscope for Cancer says this is a good week to call old friends.
UsageSay born under Cancer, or the Sun in Cancer.
- 3Something bad that spreads through something else, like a group or a place, and harms it.
Lying became a cancer on the team, and soon nobody trusted anyone else.
The mayor called gangs a cancer that was spreading through the city.
UsageSay something is a cancer on a group.
Less common meanings
- 4Someone born under the star sign Cancer, the crab.
My mom is a Cancer, and her birthday is in early July.
Both of my brothers are Cancers, born in different years but the same week.
UsageWrite a Cancer with a capital C.
SimilarCancerian
Note
- 5A group of stars in the zodiac that is said to look like a crab.
On a dark night, you can find Cancer in the sky between Gemini and Leo.
Cancer is hard to see because its stars are quite dim.
Note
- 6
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Practice
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Origins
From the Latin word for 'crab'. Tumors were given this name because the swollen veins around them looked like a crab's legs.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Cancer derives from the Latin word meaning 'crab'. en.wiktionary.org
- Tumors received this name because their surrounding swollen veins resembled a crab's legs. en.wikipedia.org
From the Latin word for "crab", copying an older Greek name for the same stars.