as in uses
to remove parts from a machine, car, etc., to repair or build another one
He cannibalized one washing machine to fix another. Many parts of the engine were cannibalized from older cars.
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Recent Examples of cannibalizes
Should Netflix prevail, WBD’s cable assets would be split off, effectively stranding the linear networks as the industry leader cannibalizes the content engine for its digital platform.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2025
But if the workforce can’t scale with those policies, the policy just cannibalizes itself.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2025
But if the workforce can’t scale with those policies, the policy just cannibalizes itself.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cannibalizes
Verb
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The video, which has been posted on Instagram and TikTok and viewed thousands of times, shows a man either dead or dying from gunshot wounds as a Richmond detective uses a blunt object to smash in the driver’s side of his own vehicle and open the door.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
24 Jan. 2026
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Johnnie Ray Salisbury, now 71, was linked to the case by forensic genealogy — a science that uses DNA from a family tree to narrow down a suspect.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sauve said Chicago typically recycles about 80,000 tons of material a year.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
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In the 20 municipalities the county serves, the only plastics that the county recycles are bottles.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cannibalizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cannibalizes. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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