radiotherapy

American

[ray-dee-oh-ther-uh-pee] / ˌreɪ di oʊˈθɛr ə pi /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

treatment of disease by means of x-rays or of radioactive substances.

radiotherapy British

/ ˌreɪdɪəʊˈθɛrəpɪ /

noun

the treatment of disease, esp cancer, by means of alpha or beta particles emitted from an implanted or ingested radioisotope, or by means of a beam of high-energy radiation Compare chemotherapy

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of radiotherapy

First recorded in 1900–05; radio- + therapy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

radiotherapy

For the current trial, researchers are studying controlled release niacin given alongside recommended chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

A fourth tumour was discovered in 2024, which required radiotherapy.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Walters, who hails from New Zealand, underwent several unsuccessful rounds of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy in Auckland.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The blood-brain barrier creates another obstacle by restricting how effectively drugs and radiotherapy can reach the tumor.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

Doctors concluded that radiotherapy and chemotherapy offered him the best chance for survival.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023