cannibalize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
cannibalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cannibalized,
past participle, past
-
cannibalizing
present participle
-
to subject to cannibalism.
-
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.
-
to cut into; cause to become reduced; diminish.
New products introduced in the next six months will cannibalize sales from established lines.
verb (used without object)
-
cannibalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cannibalized,
past participle, past
-
cannibalizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cannibalizesimple
-
cannibalizessimple
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have cannibalizedperfect
-
has cannibalizedperfect
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am cannibalizingprogressive
-
are cannibalizingprogressive
-
is cannibalizingprogressive
-
have been cannibalizingperfect progressive
-
has been cannibalizingperfect progressive
Past
-
cannibalizedsimple
-
had cannibalizedperfect
-
was cannibalizingprogressive
-
were cannibalizingprogressive
-
had been cannibalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cannibalize
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ships break down, sailors have to cannibalize parts, and the fleet fires weapons faster than the nation can replenish them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
In this case, it has come from states that have legalized sports betting, such as Nevada, and are worried that the prediction markets could cannibalize their legal offerings and evade their gambling regulations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
There’s at least one executive in the artificial intelligence space who doesn’t think AI will cannibalize software companies: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 26, 2026
There’s at least one executive in the artificial-intelligence space who doesn’t think AI will cannibalize software companies: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 26, 2026
I dread the time when I shall have to cannibalize the recorder.
From The Issahar Artifacts by Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin) Bone
They think investors will be focused on whether Foundayo cannibalizes any demand for Lily’s other weight-loss drug Zepbound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
The initiative will likely be a test to whether it cannibalizes higher-priced attendance on other days, Reese said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
Then there is the ongoing debate in the industry over whether internet gambling cannibalizes physical casinos.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2024
For Meta, there’s risk that Threads cannibalizes Instagram’s revenue over Twitter’s.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2023
“It may be better that Telenor cannibalizes itself than someone else doing it.”
From Reuters ● Mar. 1, 2018
Reddit, once the internet’s premier place to talk about the news, was cannibalized by invite-only chatroom platforms like Discord and Telegram.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
“The shows cannibalized themselves by making their show available in snack-size clips after the network airing,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
This time around, yield-sharing between platforms is more common, which has reduced overall outflows but also cannibalized off-platform holdings, Engel explained.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
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 ● Jan. 5, 2026
Unfortunately for Holly, in her haste she’d grabbed one of the helmets cannibalized by Artemis Fowl.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
And rather than cannibalizing demand for classical computing, the firm expects demand to ramp up, to the tune of $100 billion by 2040.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
But it must be actively defeated; it would be a grave mistake to assume it will dissipate after losing momentum or cannibalizing itself.
From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026
Workday tumbled as much as 9.6% after issuing weaker-than-expected guidance, briefly reigniting fears about AI competition cannibalizing enterprise software demand before the stock clawed back its losses to finish higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
In previous investment cycles, Meta would launch new formats to keep up with competitors at the cost of cannibalizing its existing products.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025
And she had started cannibalizing parts of her city to add on to its height.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
