Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense cannibalizes, present participle cannibalizing, past tense, past participle cannibalizedregional note: in BRIT, also use cannibalise
1. verb
If you cannibalize something, you take it to pieces and use it to make something else.
They cannibalized damaged planes for the parts. [VERB noun]
2. verb
If one of a company's products cannibalizes the company's sales, people buy it instead of any of the company's other products.
[business]
A website need not cannibalise existing sales. [VERB noun]
cannibalize in British English
or cannibalise (ˈkænɪbəˌlaɪz)
verb(transitive)
1.
to use (serviceable parts from one machine or vehicle) to repair another, esp as an alternative to using new parts
2.
(of a commercial product) to achieve sales to the detriment of (sales of another product made by the same company)
Derived forms
cannibalization (ˌcannibaliˈzation) or cannibalisation (ˌcannibaliˈsation)
noun
cannibalize in American English
(ˈkænəbəlˌaɪz)
US
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈcannibalˌized or ˈcannibalˌizing
1.
to strip (old or worn equipment) of parts for use in other units to help keep them in service
2.
to take any or all personnel or components from (one organization) for use in building up another
3.
to swallow up or devour (another of the same kind)
used figuratively
4.
to incorporate (parts of someone else's writing, painting, or music or of one's own earlier work) into one's current efforts
Derived forms
cannibalization (ˌcannibaliˈzation)
noun
Examples of 'cannibalize' in a sentence
cannibalize
And if we were to be cannibalized, who better to do it than us?
Globe and Mail (2003)
Within our newsroom, many expressed fears we would cannibalize the newspaper.
Globe and Mail (2003)
While continuing their mainstream strategies, they should enter this new area without dreading cannibalizing their traditional offerings.
Globe and Mail (2003)
One theory is that, as the company opens more stores, nearby outlets are starting to cannibalize each other.