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.
But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins. Charlie Campbell, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025 Left unresolved, the conflict has festered and now metastasized into one of the largest, longest-running, and most complex armed conflicts in the world. Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025 By morning, the ache had metastasized into a blinding migraine. Cassidy Randall, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2025 The Wyss Institute is developing an implantable lymphoid organ as a breakthrough therapy for late-stage and metastasized ovarian cancer. Theresa Neil, Forbes, 24 Feb. 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

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Cite this Entry

“Metastasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metastasize. Accessed 21 Mar. 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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