cancer

cancer — noun

1. a serious illness where cells inside the body multiply abnormally, forming masse

1.nounB1
Definition

a serious illness where cells inside the body multiply abnormally, forming masses that attack healthy tissue and often lead to death.

Example

Aunt Rosa's doctor told her the cancer was at an early stage and could be treated.

passive: be told cancer is at a stage

After years of heavy smoking, Ravi's father died of lung cancer at sixty-two.

collocation: die of lung cancer

Common collocations
  • diagnosed with cancer
  • cancer patient
  • cancer research
  • die of cancer
  • lung cancer
  • breast cancer
  • skin cancer
  • cancer cells
  • cancer treatment
Synonyms
  • malignancy

    a medical term for a dangerous cancerous growth; more formal and technical

Antonyms
  • benign tumor

    a growth that does not spread to other parts of the body and is not life-threatening

Grammar Patterns

cancer + noun (as modifier)

diagnosed with cancer

die of/from cancer

Usage Note

Uncountable when used as a general concept ('He has cancer'). Countable when referring to specific types or instances ('several different cancers affect the liver'). Frequently modifies other nouns: cancer cell, cancer treatment, cancer research.

Common Mistakes

He got a cancer from working with chemicals.
He got cancer from working with chemicals.
Cancer is uncountable when referring to the disease in general.

2. a harmful activity, attitude, or problem that grows and spreads quickly within a

2.nounC1
Definition

a harmful activity, attitude, or problem that grows and spreads quickly within a society or group, damaging it from the inside.

Example

The newspaper described corruption as a cancer eating away at the heart of the government.

metaphorical use: a cancer eating away at something

Racism in any form is a social cancer that destroys communities from within.

collocation: social cancer

Common collocations
  • a cancer in society
  • the cancer of corruption
  • social cancer
  • cancer spreading
Synonyms
  • blight

    a damaging or destructive influence; more poetic and less clinical than 'cancer'

  • plague

    a widespread and destructive problem; stronger and more dramatic in tone

Antonyms
  • remedy

    something that cures or solves a problem

Grammar Patterns

cancer of + noun

a cancer in/on + noun

Usage Note

Always used figuratively, not a medical term. The subject is typically a social ill: corruption, racism, hatred, dishonesty. Often followed by 'of + noun' specifying the problem.

Common Mistakes

There is a cancer in my phone.
There is a cancer of dishonesty in the organisation.
This sense is only used as a metaphor for social problems, not for physical objects.

3. a group of stars in the northern sky that is said to form the shape of a crab; o

3.noun
Definition

a group of stars in the northern sky that is said to form the shape of a crab; one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac.

Example

On a clear spring night, the faint stars of Cancer appear between Gemini and Leo.

astronomical location between other constellations

Yusuf pointed his telescope at the constellation Cancer and showed his sister the Beehive Cluster.

Common collocations
  • constellation Cancer
  • in Cancer
  • the Beehive Cluster in Cancer
Synonyms
  • the Crab

    the informal English name for the constellation, referring to its shape

Grammar Patterns

the constellation Cancer

in the constellation Cancer

Usage Note

Always capitalised as a proper noun when referring to the astronomical constellation. Often preceded by 'the constellation'.

4. the astrological sign that covers people who have a birthday between June twenty

4.nounA2
Definition

the astrological sign that covers people who have a birthday between June twenty-second and July twenty-second; also refers to someone whose birthday falls in that period.

Example

Theo was born on July 3rd, so his star sign is Cancer.

person with the sign: be + Cancer

According to her horoscope, Hana as a Cancer should focus on family matters this month.

Common collocations
  • (be a) Cancer
  • born under Cancer
  • Cancer season
  • Cancerian personality
Synonyms
  • Cancerian

    an alternative term for a person born under the sign of Cancer; more formal

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be (a) Cancer

be born under Cancer

Cancerian

Usage Note

Capitalised as a proper noun when referring to the sign or a person of that sign. A person can be called 'a Cancer' or 'a Cancerian'. The uncountable form refers to the sign itself ('she is Cancer').

Common Mistakes

I am a cancer.
I am a Cancer.
When referring to the zodiac sign, always capitalise to avoid confusion with the disease.

Word family

  • cancerous
    adjectiveB2
  • Cancerian
    noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cancer refers to the disease itself—a condition where abnormal cells divide uncontrollably. A tumor is a lump or mass caused by abnormal cell growth; tumors can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Malignancy is a more formal medical term that specifically describes a dangerous, cancerous growth that can spread to other parts of the body. Growth is the most general term and can refer to any abnormal mass of tissue, whether cancerous or not. For example, a doctor might say 'The scan shows a growth in your lung' before tests confirm whether it is cancer. Use 'cancer' for the disease, 'tumor' for the physical mass, and 'malignancy' in clinical or formal writing.

cancer ↗tumor ↗malignancygrowth ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • terminally
  • fatally
  • newly diagnosed with

Phrases

  • battling cancer
  • fighting cancer
  • cancer of the lung/breast/skin
  • die of cancer
  • diagnosed with cancer

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

The word 'cancer' comes from Latin cancer meaning 'crab'. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates used the word karkinos (crab) to describe tumors because their swollen veins reminded him of a crab's legs. The Roman physician Celsus later translated this into Latin as cancer. The sense of a zodiac constellation and the astrological sign share the same 'crab' root: the constellation was named for its crab-like shape.