metastasize

American  

[muh-tas-tuh-sahyz] / məˈtæs təˌsaɪz /

especially British, metastasise

verb (used without object)

metastasized, metastasizing

1. 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.

2. to spread injuriously.

   Street gangs have metastasized in our city.

3. to transform, especially into a dangerous form.

   The KGB metastasized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Truth metastasized into lurid fantasy.

---

metastasize British  

/ mɪˈtæstəˌsaɪz /

verb

1. pathol (esp of cancer cells) to spread to a new site in the body via blood or lymph vessels

2. (of a problem) to deteriorate or spread into new areas

---

Etymology

Origin of metastasize

First recorded in 1905–10; metastas(is) + -ize

Explanation

When things metastasize, they grow and spread. Cancer cells are said to metastasize when they spread from one part of the body to another. A cancer patient dreads hearing the word metastasize, since it means that the malignant cells have spread through the body. Breast cancer cells are said to metastasize, for example, if they're found by a doctor in a patient's liver or brain. The process of this happening is known as metastasis. Both words come from the Late Latin metastasis, or "transition," with the Greek root word metastasis, "removal, migration, change, or revolution."

Related Words

• clean
• drain
• dribble
• leak
• penetrate
• percolate
• permeate
• refine
• sift
• trickle
• winnow