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

The product of hours spent on Twitter, the novel is like a garish social-media thought experiment left to metastasize. —Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025

When cooperation fails and the threat continues to metastasize, military action becomes not only justified but necessary. —Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025

Mellencamp revealed in April that her disease progressed to stage 4, having metastasized to her brain and lungs. —Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 24 July 2025

For this reason, many people receive a diagnosis when the cancer has already metastasized to other areas of the body. —Carrie Madormo, Health, 18 July 2025

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