| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
metastasis (mɪˈtæstəsɪs) ![]() | |
| —n , pl -ses | |
| 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 |
| [C16: via Latin from Greek: transition] | |
| metastatic | |
| —adj | |
| meta'statically | |
| —adv | |
metastasis me·tas·ta·sis (mə-tās'tə-sĭs)
n. pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-sēz')
Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms or cancerous cells from an original site to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, usually by way of the blood vessels or lymphatics.
A secondary cancerous growth formed by transmission of cancerous cells from a primary growth located elsewhere in the body.
| metastasis (mə-tās'tə-sĭs) Pronunciation Key
A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body. metastasize verb |