metastasize

verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size mə-ˈta-stə-ˌsīz How to pronounce metastasize (audio)
metastasized; metastasizing

intransitive verb

: to spread or grow by or as if by metastasis
died of lung cancer which had metastasized throughout his bodyG. P. Elliott

Examples of metastasize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 See all Example Sentences for metastasize 

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of metastasize was in 1907

Dictionary Entries Near metastasize

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 How to pronounce metastasize (audio)
: 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
metastasization noun
also British metastasisation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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