Definition of "chancre" []

• A dull red, hard, insensitive lesion that is the first manifestation of syphilis. (noun)
• An ulcer located at the initial point of entry of a pathogen. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The disease is already systemic, or constitutional, and the chancre is the local expression of a constitutional disease."
• "The _syphilis_ germ will grow first where it is rubbed in, causing a hard ulcer, called a chancre, and after that it travels through the entire body."
• "Primary syphilis is usually heralded by a single sore called a chancre, and if not treated, patients can develop a rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes and other symptoms."