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

The strategy may also help prevent metastasis, a crucial stage in cancer progression.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

One triggered epithelial-mesenchymal transition, an essential step in cancer progression and metastasis.

From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026

Taken together, the results point to a previously underappreciated gut-bone marrow-liver metastasis axis.

From Science Daily • Jan. 23, 2026

Furthermore, all mice that remained tumor-free after vaccination also resisted metastasis when exposed systemically to cancer cells.

From Science Daily • Oct. 13, 2025

The cancers most liable to give rise to metastasis in bone are those of the breast, liver, uterus, prostate, colon, and rectum; hyper-nephroma of the kidney may also give rise to metastases in bone.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

Related Words

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