metastasis

American  

[muh-tas-tuh-sis] / məˈtæs tə sɪs /

noun

plural

metastases

1. Pathology.

   1. 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.

   2. the condition produced by this.

2. transformation.

3. Rhetoric. a rapid transition, as from one subject to another.

4. Physics. a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle.

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metastasis British  

/ mɪˈtæstəsɪs, ˌmɛtəˈstætɪk /

noun

1. pathol the spreading of a disease, esp cancer cells, from one part of the body to another

2. a transformation or change, as in rhetoric, from one point to another

3. a rare word for metabolism

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metastasis Scientific  

/ mə-tăs′tə-sĭs /

1. A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.

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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

Explanation

When a doctor uses the word metastasis, it's never good news. It means an illness has spread to new parts of the body. The noun metastasis is a medical term that's most often used to describe a spreading cancer. If a patient's lung cancer spreads to his heart or to his lymph nodes, that is metastasis. It's a Greek word meaning "transference or change." In Latin, the word metastasis was at one time used to mean "a sudden transition in subjects," but ever since the 1660s, the English use has been almost entirely medical.

Example Sentences

This early nerve invasion raises the risk of metastasis and is closely tied to how aggressive the disease becomes.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2026

"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 • Jan. 22, 2026

Earlier research has tied CADM2 to traits such as impulsivity, obesity, and cancer metastasis.

From Science Daily • Oct. 20, 2025

"By building the right immune infrastructure inside tumors, we can potentiate the patient's own defenses -- both T cell and B cell arms -- against cancer growth, relapse, and metastasis."

From Science Daily • Oct. 15, 2025

Beck made fourteen experiments very carefully, but did not succeed in producing metastasis in a single case.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Related Words

• changeover
• conversion
• development
• evolution
• growth
• passage
• progress
• progression
• shift
• transformation
• upheaval