tumour
UK/'tju:mә/US
IELTSB2
Definitions
n.
An abnormal mass of tissue that forms when cells grow and divide uncontrollably; a swelling in the body.
细胞失控生长分裂形成的异常组织团块；身体上的肿块、肿瘤。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedStraight from Latin tumor 'a swelling.' Originally any abnormal lump on the body, the word was later narrowed by medicine to a mass of abnormal cells. The core idea is unchanged: a place where the body has swollen up.
Root tum still carries 6 more wordsUsage Guide
Spelling: tumour is British, tumor is American — same word. A tumour is not automatically cancer: doctors distinguish benign (harmless) from malignant (cancerous) tumours.
Example Sentences
- 1.
The scan revealed a small tumour pressing on the nerve.
- 2.
Surgeons removed the tumour and sent it for testing.
- 3.
Most breast lumps turn out to be benign tumours, not cancer.