How to spell cancer

Cancer is spelled C-A-N-C-E-R. A hard C at the start and a soft C in the middle: can-cer.

hear itcan·cer/'kænsər/nounRules and real life

What it means: A serious illness caused by harmful cells growing in the body.

In a sentence: Cancer is a type of illness that doctors work hard to treat.

Same family: cancrid, Cancridae, crab, crustacean. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word *cancer* comes from Latin for "crab." Ancient naturalists used this name because the shape and movement of crabs in the genus *Cancer* reminded them of a crab’s claws reaching out in many directions.

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Words like this

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