Meanings
nounthe big C (uncountable)
- euphemisticslanguncountablecancer.
You can always count on John Wayne, 57; he never steps out of character. "I kicked the Big C," growled the movie toughie, admitting that it was lung cancer that put him in Los Angeles' Good Samaritan Hospital for surgery last September.
1965, Time
Origin
From the first letter of cancer.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
big C. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20C
MLA
“big C.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20C. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big C,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20C.
Source: big C on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.