chemotherapy
[ kee-moh-ther-uh-pee, kem-oh- ]
/ ˌki moʊˈθɛr ə pi, ˌkɛm oʊ- /
noun Medicine/Medical.
the treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific toxic effect upon the disease-producing microorganisms or that selectively destroy cancerous tissue.
RELATED WORDS
bomber, executioner, savage, cancer, radiation, vandal, firebrand, poison, iconoclast, assassin, despoiler, pillager, annihilator, eradicator, wrecker, exterminator, ransacker
Nearby words
- chemosynthetic bacteria,
- chemotactic,
- chemotaxis,
- chemotaxonomy,
- chemotherapeutics,
- chemotroph,
- chemotrophic,
- chemotropism,
- chempaduk,
- chemulpo
Compare pharmacotherapy.
Origin of chemotherapy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for chemotherapy
chemotherapy
/ (ˌkiːməʊˈθɛrəpɪ, kiːmə-) /
noun
treatment of disease, esp cancer, by means of chemical agentsCompare radiotherapy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
chemotherapy
1906, from German Chemotherapie, coined by German biochemist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), from chemo- + therapie (see therapy).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
chemotherapy
[ kē′mō-thĕr′ə-pē ]
n.
The treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that are selectively destructive to malignant cells and tissues.
The treatment of disease using chemical agents or drugs that are selectively toxic to the causative agent of the disease, such as a virus or other microorganism.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
chemotherapy
[ kē′mō-thĕr′ə-pē ]
The treatment of disease, especially cancer, using drugs that are destructive to malignant cells and tissues.
The treatment of disease using chemical agents or drugs that are selectively toxic to the causative agent of the disease, such as a microorganism.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
chemotherapy
[ (kee-moh-ther-uh-pee) ]
The treatment of disease with chemicals. The term chemotherapy often refers to a kind of treatment for cancer in which chemicals are administered to destroy cancer cells.
Note
There are often side effects to chemotherapy, a common one being the temporary loss of hair.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.