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
G. P. ElliottExamples of metastasize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Speech Changes Changes in speech may be the result of breast cancer that has metastasized to the vocal cords, the mouth, or the brain.
—Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
After owner Jack Kent Cooke’s death in 1997, longtime fan Daniel Snyder bought the team, beginning a period of frustration and disappointment that eventually metastasized into toxicity on such a level that Congress got involved.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
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
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Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 3 Feb. 2025
After owner Jack Kent Cooke’s death in 1997, longtime fan Daniel Snyder bought the team, beginning a period of frustration and disappointment that eventually metastasized into toxicity on such a level that Congress got involved.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for metastasize
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Cite this Entry
“Metastasize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metastasize. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
Paul Brodeur, The New YorkerLove words? Need even more definitions?
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