cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈka-nə-bəl 

: one that eats the flesh of its own kind

Examples of cannibal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Texas Republicans have nominated a Senate candidate with so many scandals to his name that an incumbent GOP Senator last month said that calling him ethically challenged was like saying serial killer cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer had an eating disorder. —Philip Elliott, Time, 2 June 2026

In this iteration, Apex follows a grieving woman named Sasha (Charlize Theron) as she's hunted through the Blue Mountains of Australia by Ben, a deranged cannibal (Taron Egerton). —Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026

Tubi There’s nothing sympathetic about Albert Fish, a seemingly harmless older man who was actually a sadistic murderer and cannibal. —Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Apr. 2026

But in the small starfish genus observed by Ricketts, an individual’s excision of his or her longest arm happens so slowly that an otter, turtle, or cannibal would probably vanquish anyway. —Mandy-Suzanne Wong, Longreads, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Canibalis Carib, from Spanish Caníbal, from Taino Caniba, of Cariban origin; akin to Carib kariʔna Carib, person

First Known Use

1541, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈkan-ə-bəl 

: a human being or an animal that eats its own kind

Etymology

from New Latin Canibalis "Carib," from Spanish Caníbal (same meaning), from Taino (American Indian language of the Greater Antilles) Caniba (same meaning), of Carib origin

Word Origin

On Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World the Indigenous peoples whom he encountered in Cuba and Hispaniola told him about a people living to their east, who periodically raided them and whom they greatly feared. In his log Columbus recorded a number of phonetically similar names for this people, including caníbales and caribes. The Spanish court historian Petrus Martyr wrote a Latin account of Columbus's discoveries, first printed in 1516, that used these two words and widely distributed them throughout Europe. In Petrus Martyr's words, "the inhabitants of these islands assert that the Canibales or Caribes are eaters of human flesh." Later, the meaning of the two words diverged. Caribes was applied to the Carib-speaking peoples of the Lesser Antilles and South America who were so feared by their neighbors; it is also ultimately the base of the word Caribbean. Canibales passed into English as a generic word for any creature that eats the flesh of its own kind.

Medical Definition

cannibal

noun

can·​ni·​bal ˈkan-ə-bəl 

: one that eats the flesh of its own kind

cannibal adjective