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

But her cancer metastasized (or spread) to other areas of her body, and last year Lewis was told her cancer had progressed to stage IV. —Maggie O'Neill, Health, 18 Oct. 2024

Almost a year after the accident, Shaw’s anxieties about returning to the workforce have metastasized due to his newfound condition worsening. —Courtney Howard, Variety, 10 Oct. 2024

The doctor told her there were multiple tumors that had metastasized to other parts of her body including her skeletal system, which is how the tumor that was causing her shoulder pain was located. —Landon Mion, Fox News, 30 Sep. 2024

This entire saga shows how pseudoscientific thinking can metastasize in a positive feedback loop, ensnaring not only scientists with paranormal inclinations but also government officials. —Luis Cayetano Simmari, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

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