metastasize

verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size mə-ˈta-stə-ˌsīz 

metastasized; metastasizing

intransitive verb

: to spread or grow by or as if by metastasis

… died of lung cancer which had metastasized throughout his body.

—G. P. Elliott

Examples of metastasize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Drug addiction and homelessness have metastasized, turning parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco into no-go zones. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026

That cruelty has metastasized throughout his administration into something far more sinister and lethal. —James Speyer, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026

Americans immediately saw an increase in prices at the pump; businesses watched transportation costs skip higher; and fears have heightened that the war’s fallout could quickly metastasize throughout the economy. —Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026

Drug addiction and homelessness have metastasized, turning parts of Los Angeles and San Francisco into no-go zones. —Dan Walters, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for metastasize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

metastasize

verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size mə-ˈtas-tə-ˌsīz 

: to spread or grow by or as if by metastasis

Medical Definition

metastasize

intransitive verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size

variants also British metastasise

mə-ˈtas-tə-ˌsīz 

metastasized also British metastasised; metastasizing also British metastasising

: to spread by metastasis

… all ten were primary brain cancers; that is, they had originated in the brain, and not metastasized there from elsewhere in the body.

—Paul Brodeur, The New Yorker

metastasization noun

also British metastasisation

mə-ˌtas-tə-sə-ˈzā-shən