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metastasize
verb
me·tas·ta·size
mə-ˈta-stə-ˌsīz
metastasized; metastasizing
: 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
By the time Ricciardi finally volunteered himself for the procedure two years later (concerned about the blood that kept dribbling out of his ass), the polyps that a doctor might have found during an earlier examination had grown into a fist-sized mass and metastasized throughout his liver.
—
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025
Economic fears have metastasized into grievance—this is the core finding of the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer.
—
Richard Edelman, TIME, 19 Jan. 2025
Patient with no choice of hospitals DF2 landed in the emergency room of one of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s sprawling network of hospitals, which has now metastasized outside of Pennsylvania.
—
Judy Stone, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024
What was once a niche campaign against diversity-equity-and-inclusion programs has metastasized into a general anti-idealism.
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025
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Word History
First Known Use
1907, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Metastasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metastasize. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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
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
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