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

Multiple security officials across Europe describe a threat that is metastasizing as Russian agents, increasingly under scrutiny by security services and frustrated in their own operations, hire local amateurs to undertake high-risk, and often deniable, crimes on their behalf. —Tara John, CNN, 4 Nov. 2024

Two days later, he was faced with worse news: A second scan found the cancer originated in his prostate and had metastasized to his bones, leaving tumors in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and rib — incurable stage 4 cancer. —Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2024

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

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