cannibalize

American  

[kan-uh-buh-lahyz] / ˈkæn ə bəˌlaɪz /

especially British, cannibalise

verb (used with object)

cannibalized, cannibalizing

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.

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verb (used without object)

cannibalized, cannibalizing

1. to act cannibalistically; practice cannibalism.

cannibalize British  

/ ˈkænɪbəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to use (serviceable parts from one machine or vehicle) to repair another, esp as an alternative to using new parts

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Other Word Forms

• cannibalization noun

Etymology

Origin of cannibalize

First recorded in 1940–45; cannibal + -ize

Example Sentences

He said that 24 of the last 42 net new U.S. warehouse openings were affecting Costco’s existing markets, “with many of these cannibalized locations being extremely high-volume.”

From MarketWatch

The strong print wasn’t enough to calm investors’ fears about AI cannibalizing the information-technology and consulting sectors.

From Barron's

Everyone was going to be able to be entrepreneurial and make themselves a business without necessarily cannibalizing their souls.

From Los Angeles Times

Their executives insisted they would never cannibalize sales outside China by exporting from those joint ventures, recalls Michael Dunne of market research and advisory Dunne Insights.

From The Wall Street Journal

A farmer who owned a Model T didn’t need a forge or metal lathe to fix his engine; he could simply order a replacement part—or cannibalize one from a wrecked car in a junkyard.

From The Wall Street Journal