cancer
Plural: cancers
Noun
- A malignant, invasive growth or tumor in the body.
- any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream
- (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer
- a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Leo and Gemini
- the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22
- type genus of the family Cancridae
- A disease in which the cells of a tissue undergo uncontrolled (and often rapid) proliferation.
- Something damaging that spreads throughout something else.
Adj
- Extremely unpleasant and annoying.
Examples
- Finding CANCER on the board felt grim, but at least it connected to a high-value letter.
- I used to love this game, but the new meta is straight up cancer.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cancer (“crab”), a calque of Ancient Greek καρκίνος (karkínos, “crab; ulcer; cancer”) (possibly cognate), applied to cancerous tumors because the enlarged veins resembled the legs of a crab. Doublet of canker and chancre.
Synonyms
Cancer the Crab, Crab, genus Cancer, malignant neoplastic disease, AIDS, cancerous, growth, lichen, malignancy
Scrabble Score: 10
cancer: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordcancer: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cancer: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary