Cancer Meaning
/ˈkænsə/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA disease in which the cells of a tissue undergo uncontrolled (and often rapid) proliferation.
nounSomething damaging that spreads throughout something else.
Sentence Examples
Tiny particles in the air can cause cancer.
Smokers are far more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers are.
European researchers say olive oil could help prevent cancer.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Regular checkups can help detect ____ early, improving treatment success rates.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Early detection of ____ can lead to a much better chance of a cure.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion:
"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."
— 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2025, page 76:
"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."
— 2015 February 26, Francis S. Collins, Harold Varmus, “A New Initiative on Precision Medicine”, in The New England Journal of Medicine, volume 372, number 9, →DOI, pages 793–794:
"I began by telling the President that there was a cancer growing on the Presidency, and if the cancer was not removed, the President himself would be killed by it."
— 1973 June 25, John Dean
"The disease of the self runs through my blood; It's a cancer fatal to my soul."
— 1991, Charlie Peacock, “In the Light”:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Regular checkups can help detect ____ early, improving treatment success rates.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Early detection of ____ can lead to a much better chance of a cure.