the fourth sign of the zodiac; the sun is in this sign from about June 21 to July 22
a small zodiacal constellation in the northern hemisphere; between Leo and Gemini
(astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Cancer
any malignant growth or tumor caused by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division; it may spread to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system or the blood stream
(pathology) an elevation of the skin filled with serous fluid
get blistered; "Her feet blistered during the long hike"
cause blisters to from on; "the tight shoes and perspiration blistered her feet"
subject to harsh criticism; "The Senator blistered the administration in his speech on Friday"; "the professor scaled the students"; "your invectives scorched the community"
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
a change for the worse
a change (usually undesired) in the waveform of an acoustic or analog electrical signal; the difference between two measurements of a signal (as between the input and output signal); "heavy metal guitar players use vacuum tube amplifiers to produce extreme distortion"
a failing or deficiency; "that interpretation is an unfortunate defect of our lack of information"
an imperfection in a bodily system; "visual defects"; "this device permits detection of defects in the lungs"
an imperfection in a device or machine; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer"
desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army; "If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot"
(sports) a serve that is illegal (e.g., that lands outside the prescribed area); "he served too many double faults"
responsibility for a bad situation or event; "it was John's fault"
(electronics) equipment failure attributable to some defect in a circuit (loose connection or insulation failure or short circuit etc.); "it took much longer to find the fault than to fix it"
(geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate; "a British term for `quarry' is `stone pit'"
a trap in the form of a concealed hole
a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); "they dug a pit to bury the body"
a concavity in a surface (especially an anatomical depression)
remove the pits from; "pit plums and cherries"
set into opposition or rivalry; "let them match their best athletes against ours"; "pit a chess player against the Russian champion"; "He plays his two children off against each other"