cancer
/ˈkæːnsə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.93 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A disease in which the cells of a tissue undergo uncontrolled (often rapid) proliferation.
Countable; Uncountable
name
A constellation of the zodiac traditionally figured in the shape of a crab.
name
The zodiac sign for the crab, ruled by the Moon and covering June 22–July 22 (tropical astrology) or July 16–August 15 (sidereal astrology).
Example Sentences
- "She's ill. She's dying. She has cancer of the pancreas, stomach, just about everywhere... She's been dying for about six years now. We're getting used to it."
- "If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the[…]hazards of gasoline cars: air and water pollution, noise and noxiousness, constant coughing and the undeniable rise in cancers caused by smoke exhaust particulates."
- "Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you."
- "Cancers are common diseases; in the aggregate, they are among the leading causes of death nationally and worldwide, and their incidence is increasing as the population ages."
- "Almost half of the participants agreed that "It seems like everything causes cancer"..."
- "Sure, almost everything 'causes cancer' now. That said, I don't go hugging nuclear waste or acting like cancer itself is some conspiracy."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæːnsə/
- British English: /ˈkænsə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
abdominal cancer
anal cancer
anti-cancer
bile duct cancer
biliary tract cancer
black cancer
bladder cancer
blood cancer