Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

cannibalize

[kan-uh-buh-lahyz]
See more synonyms for cannibalize on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), can·ni·bal·ized, can·ni·bal·iz·ing.
  1. to subject to cannibalism.
  2. to remove parts, equipment, assets, employees, etc., from (an item, product, or business) in order to use them in another: to cannibalize old airplanes for replacement parts.
  3. to cut into; cause to become reduced; diminish: New products introduced in the next six months will cannibalize sales from established lines.
Show More
verb (used without object), can·ni·bal·ized, can·ni·bal·iz·ing.
  1. to act cannibalistically; practice cannibalism.
Show More
Also especially British, can·ni·bal·ise.

Origin of cannibalize

First recorded in 1940–45; cannibal + -ize
Related formscan·ni·bal·i·za·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cannibalization

Contemporary Examples

British Dictionary definitions for cannibalization

cannibalize

cannibalise

verb
  1. (tr) to use (serviceable parts from one machine or vehicle) to repair another, esp as an alternative to using new parts
Show More
Derived Formscannibalization or cannibalisation, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cannibalization

n.

by 1907, noun of action from cannibalize.

Show More

cannibalize

v.

1798 (in Burke's memoirs), figurative, and meaning "be perverted into cannibalism," from cannibal + -ize. Meaning "take parts from one construction and use them in another" is from 1943, originally of military equipment. Related: Cannibalized; cannibalizing.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper