cancer

Definitions

1. 1noun

   A genus of decapod Crustacea, including some of the most common shore crabs of Europe and North America, as the rock crab, Jonah crab, etc. See Crab.

2. 2noun

   The fourth of the twelve signs of the zodiac. The first point is the northern limit of the sun's course in summer; hence, the sign of the summer solstice. See Tropic.

3. 3noun

   A northern constellation between Gemini and Leo.

4. 4noun

   Formerly, any malignant growth, esp. one attended with great pain and ulceration, with cachexia and progressive emaciation. It was so called, perhaps, from the great veins which surround it, compared by the ancients to the claws of a crab. The term is now restricted to such a growth made up of aggregations of epithelial cells, either without support or embedded in the meshes of a trabecular framework.

5. 5noun

   type genus of the family Cancridae

6. 6noun

   the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22

   Synonyms

   crab
7. 7noun

   a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Leo and Gemini

8. 8noun

   (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer

   Synonyms

   crab
9. 9noun

   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