ulcer C1 Topic:Health & Medicine US /ˈʌlsɚ/ UK /ˈʌlsə/ See IPA manual Freq #15157 Meanings 1 noun an open sore on the skin or a mucous membrane in which tissue has been damaged or destroyed The doctor treated the persistent leg ulcer and checked for infection. 2 noun a peptic ulcer in the stomach or upper intestine Medication helped the stomach ulcer heal without surgery. 3 noun figurative: a harmful or corrupting problem that continues to spread The essay described official bribery as an ulcer on public life. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an open sore on the skin or... ulcerationopen sore 2 noun · a peptic ulcer in the... peptic ulcer 3 noun · figurative: a harmful or... blightcanker Word family Forms ulcerousulcers Derived forms ulcerateulcerationulcerativeulcerous Related forms lesionsorewound Common collocations gastric ulcer Adjective + noun indolent ulcer Adjective + noun Etymology From Old French ulcere, from Latin ulcus ("sore, ulcer"). The medical word later developed a figurative use for a persistent source of moral or social corruption. Topics Health & Medicine External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # ulcer **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈʌlsɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈʌlsə/ **Frequency rank:** 15157 ## Meanings 1. an open sore on the skin or a mucous membrane in which tissue has been damaged or destroyed 2. a peptic ulcer in the stomach or upper intestine 3. figurative: a harmful or corrupting problem that continues to spread ## Examples - The doctor treated the persistent leg ulcer and checked for infection. - Medication helped the stomach ulcer heal without surgery. - The essay described official bribery as an ulcer on public life. ## Synonyms - ulceration - open sore - canker ## Derived Forms - ulcerate - ulceration - ulcerative - ulcerous ## Related Forms - lesion - sore - wound ## Etymology From Old French ulcere, from Latin ulcus ("sore, ulcer"). The medical word later developed a figurative use for a persistent source of moral or social corruption. ## Topics - Health & Medicine markdown