chemotherapy

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/ˌkiːməʊˈθɛɹəpi/

noun

Any chemical treatment intended to be therapeutic with respect to a disease state.

OriginEnglish therapy ← New Latin therapīa ← Ancient Greek θεραπεία (therapeía) →
CommonScrabble 27
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Meanings

nounchemotherapy (countable and uncountable, plural chemotherapies)

plural chemotherapies

  1. countableuncountablemedicineAny chemical treatment intended to be therapeutic with respect to a disease state.
  2. countableuncountablemost common usagemedicinechemical treatment to kill or halt the replication and/or spread of cancerous cells in a patient.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  2. Ancient Greekχῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă)
  3. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)
  4. Arabicالْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)
  5. Medieval Latinalchēmia
  6. Ancient Greekχυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ.
  7. New Latinchēmīa
  8. Englishchemo-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*treb-der.?
  10. Ancient Greekθερᾰ́πων (therắpōn)
  11. Ancient Greekθεραπεύω (therapeúō)
  12. Ancient Greekθεραπεία (therapeía)
  13. New Latintherapīa
  14. Englishtherapy
  15. Englishchemotherapy

From chemo- + therapy.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic عِلَاج كِيمِيَائِيّ
  • عِلَاج كِيمِيَائِيّ (ʕilāj kīmiyāʔiyy)therapeutic chemical treatment
Catalan quimioteràpia, quimioteràpia
  • quimioteràpiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • quimioteràpiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Chinese Mandarin 化療 /化疗, 化學療法 /化学疗法
  • 化療 /化疗 (huàliáo)therapeutic chemical treatment
  • 化學療法 /化学疗法 (huàxué liáofǎ)therapeutic chemical treatment
  • 化學療法 /化学疗法 (huàxué liáofǎ)chemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
  • 化療 /化疗 (huàliáo)chemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Czech chemoterapie
  • chemoterapiechemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Dutch chemokuur, chemotherapie
  • chemokuurtherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chemotherapietherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chemotherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chemokuurchemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
  • chemotherapiechemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Esperanto kemiterapio, kemiterapio
  • kemiterapiotherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kemiterapiochemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Finnish kemoterapia, kemoterapia
  • kemoterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kemoterapiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
French chimiothérapie, chimiothérapie
  • chimiothérapietherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chimiothérapiechemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
German Chemotherapie, Chemotherapie
  • Chemotherapietherapeutic chemical treatment
  • Chemotherapiechemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Greek χημειοθεραπεία
  • χημειοθεραπεία (chimeiotherapeía)therapeutic chemical treatment
Hungarian kemoterápia
  • kemoterápiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Indonesian kemoterapi, kemoterapi
  • kemoterapitherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kemoterapichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Italian chemioterapia, chemioterapia
  • chemioterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chemioterapiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Japanese 化学療法
  • 化学療法 (kagaku ryōhō)therapeutic chemical treatment
Persian شیمیدرمانی
  • شیمیدرمانی (šimi-darmâni)chemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Polish chemioterapia, chemioterapia
  • chemioterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • chemioterapiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Portuguese quimioterapia, quimioterapia
  • quimioterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • quimioterapiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Russian химиотерапи́я, химиотерапи́я
  • химиотерапи́я (ximioterapíja)therapeutic chemical treatment
  • химиотерапи́я (ximioterapíja)chemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Slovak chemoterapia
  • chemoterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
Spanish quimioterapia, quimioterapia
  • quimioterapiatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • quimioterapiachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Swahili kemotherapi, tibakemikali
  • kemotherapichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
  • tibakemikalichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Swedish cellgiftsbehandling, kemoterapi
  • cellgiftsbehandlingchemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
  • kemoterapichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Tagalog kemoterapiya, kemoterapiya
  • kemoterapiyatherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kemoterapiyachemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Turkish kimyasal tedavi, ilaç tedavisi
  • kimyasal tedavitherapeutic chemical treatment
  • ilaç tedavisitherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kemoterapitherapeutic chemical treatment
  • kimyasal tedavichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
  • kemoterapichemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Ukrainian хімієтерапі́я, хімієтерапі́я
  • хімієтерапі́я (ximijeterapíja)therapeutic chemical treatment
  • хімієтерапі́я (ximijeterapíja)chemical treatment to kill or halt cancer
Vietnamese hoá trị
  • hoá trịchemical treatment to kill or halt cancer

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

chamerophyte
Cite this entry
APA

chemotherapy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemotherapy

MLA

“chemotherapy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemotherapy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chemotherapy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemotherapy.

Source: chemotherapy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.