Main Entry: can·ni·bal·ism

Pronunciation: \-bə-ˌliz-əm\

Function: noun

1 : the usually ritualistic eating of human flesh by a human being
2 : the eating of the flesh or the eggs of any animal by its own kind
3 : the pecking and tearing of the live flesh of its own members in a domestic poultry flock—compare pecking order
4 : oral sadism