cannibalize

1 of 2

verb

can·​ni·​bal·​ize ˈka-nə-bə-ˌlīz 

cannibalized; cannibalizing

transitive verb

1

a

: to take salvageable parts from (something, such as a disabled machine) for use in building or repairing another machine

b

: to make use of (a part taken from one thing) in building, repairing, or creating something else

2

: to deprive of an essential part or element in creating or sustaining another facility or enterprise

… the energy system has begun cannibalizing the economic system it is supposed to fuel.

—Barry Commoner

3

: to use or draw on material of (another writer, an earlier work, etc.)

a biography that cannibalizes previous biographies

4

: to take (sales) away from an existing product by selling or being sold as a similar but new product usually from the same manufacturer

also : to affect (something, such as an existing product) adversely by cannibalizing sales

5

astronomy, of a celestial object : to incorporate mass from (a nearby object) through gravitational attraction

But some stellar black holes make themselves known because they exist in a binary system as the companion to a normal star, which they are cannibalizing.

—John Noble Wilford

intransitive verb

1

: to practice cannibalism

2

: to cannibalize one unit for the sake of another of the same kind

cannibalization

ˌka-nə-bə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

cannibalization

2 of 2

noun

can·​ni·​bal·​i·​za·​tion ˌka-nə-bə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌlī-ˈzā-

variants also British cannibalisation

plural -s

: the action of cannibalizing an operating unit or enterprise

Did you know?

During World War II, military personnel often used salvageable parts from disabled vehicles and aircraft to repair other vehicles and aircraft. This sacrifice of one thing for the sake of another of its kind must have reminded some folks of cannibalism by humans and animals because the process came to be known as cannibalizing. The armed forces of this time were also known to cannibalize—that is, to take away personnel from—units to build up other units. It didn't take long for this military slang to become civilianized. Since its demobilization, the term has been used in a variety of contexts.

Examples of cannibalize in a Sentence

Verb

He cannibalized one washing machine to fix another.

Many parts of the engine were cannibalized from older cars.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

That Montreal had so much firepower at the top of the lineup, led by 2025 MVP Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Abby Roque, likely cannibalized some of Desbiens’ MVP case. —Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 16 June 2026

Whether there’s enough demand to soak up this flood of new equity without cannibalizing the tech giants that have been leading the market higher for years is an active debate on Wall Street at the moment. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 11 June 2026

Now chatbots are cannibalizing the traditional search engine. —Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026

Some of those consequences will be borne by the production’s cast and crew, with the leak possibly cannibalizing viewership when the movie officially premieres on Paramount+ in October. —Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1873, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for cannibalize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

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Kids Definition

cannibalize

verb

can·​ni·​bal·​ize ˈkan-ə-bə-ˌlīz 

cannibalized; cannibalizing

: to take apart a machine for parts to be used as replacements in other machines