English Dictionary

Define dictionary terms easily in our powerful online English dictionary.

Searching for...

No matching words found

Try a different search term or browse the dictionary

Definition cancer in British English

cancer noun

noun
/ˈkænsə(r)/
1

a serious illness caused by a group of cells in the body increasing in an uncontrolled way. Cancer is often treated by chemotherapy (=special drugs) or by radiotherapy

Example

Some cancers are easier to treat than others.

Example

cancer cells/patients

Example

He died of lung cancer.

Example

She was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix.

Synonyms and related words
2

something harmful that affects a lot of people and is difficult to stop

Example

the cancer of greed

Definition cancer in British English