metastasis
Americannoun
plural
metastases-
Pathology.
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the transference of disease-producing organisms or of malignant or cancerous cells to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.
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the condition produced by this.
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Rhetoric. a rapid transition, as from one subject to another.
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Physics. a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle.
noun
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pathol the spreading of a disease, esp cancer cells, from one part of the body to another
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a transformation or change, as in rhetoric, from one point to another
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a rare word for metabolism
Other Word Forms
- metastatic adjective
- metastatically adverb
Etymology
Origin of metastasis
First recorded in 1580–90, metastasis is from the Greek word metástasis “a changing”; meta-, stasis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One triggered epithelial-mesenchymal transition, an essential step in cancer progression and metastasis.
From Science Daily
Three weeks later, she learnt she actually had stage three cancer with limited metastases.
From Barron's
This early nerve invasion raises the risk of metastasis and is closely tied to how aggressive the disease becomes.
From Science Daily
These monocytes normally help cancer cells evade immune defenses and support the growth of metastases.
From Science Daily
"Since then, we've discovered its mechanism of action in breast cancer growth, metastasis and immune exhaustion and developed an antibody to block SFRP2."
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
