Meaning & use
metastasize
Last updated
To spread from one part of the body to another, typically referring to cancer cells.
See it in a sentence
The tumor had begun to metastasize to nearby lymph nodes by the time it was discovered.
Doctors worried the cancer would metastasize if treatment was delayed any longer.
A note on using this word
A medical term almost exclusively used in the context of cancer, though sometimes used figuratively for problems that spread uncontrollably.
Words with a similar meaning
spread
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