v.
Pronunciation: ' ka-n ə -b ə - ˌ l ī z
Function: verb
Inflected Form: -ized ; -iz · ing
Date: 1943
transitive verb
1 a : to take salvageable parts from (as a disabled machine) for use in building or repairing another machine b : to make use of (a part taken from one thing) in building, repairing, or creating something else
2 : to deprive of an essential part or element in creating or sustaining another facility or enterprise <the energy system has begun cannibalizing the economic system it is supposed to fuel ― Barry Commoner>
3 : to use or draw on material of (as another writer or an earlier work) <a volume ⋯ that not only cannibalize s previous publications but is intended itself to be cannibalized ― R. M. Adams>
4 : to take (sales) away from an existing product by selling or being sold as a similar but new product usually from the same manufacturer also : to affect (as an existing product) adversely by cannibalizing sales
intransitive verb
1 : to practice cannibalism
2 : to cannibalize one unit for the sake of another of the same kind
– can · ni · bal · i · za · tion \ ˌ ka-n ə -b ə -l ə - ' z ā -sh ə n \ noun