metastasize
Pathology. (of malignant cells or disease-producing organisms) to spread to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.
to spread injuriously: Street gangs have metastasized in our city.
to transform, especially into a dangerous form: The KGB metastasized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Truth metastasized into lurid fantasy.
Origin of metastasize
1- Also especially British, me·tas·ta·sise .
Words Nearby metastasize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use metastasize in a sentence
One thing we clearly know is that pancreatic cancer spreads early — or what we call metastasizes — to organs away from the pancreas.
How to Fix the Incentives in Cancer Research (Ep. 449) | Stephen J. Dubner | January 28, 2021 | FreakonomicsIn a country obsessed with TV—where provincialism too often metastasizes into nationalism, and especially at a time when international travel is virtually impossible—the best thing our screens can do is open us up to the world beyond them.
The Best Result of the Streaming Boom? America Finally Loves Foreign-Language TV | Judy Berman | January 22, 2021 | TimeIt faced a backlog of 26,000 reported posts that remained on the service, and Parler’s alleged reliance on “volunteers” to moderate content meant that it could not keep pace with the metastasizing threats.
The Right’s Message to Silicon Valley: 'Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee' | David French | January 16, 2021 | TimeLike Douglas, he enabled an extremist movement that rejected core American principles, allowing it to metastasize into a serious threat to the republic.
Mitch McConnell has repeated Stephen A. Douglas’s biggest mistake | Lauren Haumesser | January 12, 2021 | Washington PostIf they find cancer, surgery can still be effective if the tumor hasn’t metastasized.
This chart shows how far we’ve come in fighting cancer | Eleanor Cummins | December 3, 2020 | Popular-Science
When politicians use ethnic mobilization to promote their agendas, violence can metastasize quickly.
George Clooney on How to Stop An Inferno in South Sudan | George Clooney, John Prendergast | December 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat starts out as Casual Friday must metastasize eventually into Slumming Sunday.
British Dictionary definitions for metastasize
metastasise
/ (mɪˈtæstəˌsaɪz) /
pathol (esp of cancer cells) to spread to a new site in the body via blood or lymph vessels
(of a problem) to deteriorate or spread into new areas
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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