metastasize
Americanverb (used without object)
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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.
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to spread injuriously.
Street gangs have metastasized in our city.
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to transform, especially into a dangerous form.
The KGB metastasized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Truth metastasized into lurid fantasy.
verb
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pathol (esp of cancer cells) to spread to a new site in the body via blood or lymph vessels
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(of a problem) to deteriorate or spread into new areas
Etymology
Origin of metastasize
First recorded in 1905–10; metastas(is) + -ize
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.
On publication day, her mother called to tell her that doctors had found a mass in her abdomen — a cancer that would metastasize.
From New York Times
In the end, whatever becomes of Donald Trump himself, his movement and what it represents will continue to metastasize, representing the worst elements of American culture.
From Salon
He didn't receive another biopsy to check if cancer had spread to his lymph nodes until the following April, by which point it had metastasized.
From Seattle Times
If we learned anything from the 2008 financial crisis, it’s that banks and regulators need to get ahead of the problems before they metastasize.
From New York Times
And these have only metastasized in recent years.
From Washington Post
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.
