as in to use
to remove parts from a machine, car, etc., to repair or build another one
He cannibalized one washing machine to fix another. Many parts of the engine were cannibalized from older cars.
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Recent Examples of cannibalize
Market leaders must be willing to challenge their own business models, even at the risk of cannibalizing existing revenue streams.
—
David Michels, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Despite his cousin’s attempt to take his place, Coffin agreed to the draw and was shot, killed and cannibalized.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025
Putin’s military production is cannibalizing his country’s civilian economy.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2025
After two inattentive supervisors leave a group of miners trapped underground following a methane explosion during a Valentine’s Day dance, one miner must cannibalize his deceased comrades to survive until he is freed from the shaft — a week later.
—Brooke Knisley, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cannibalize
David Michels, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Despite his cousin’s attempt to take his place, Coffin agreed to the draw and was shot, killed and cannibalized.
—Emily Blackwood, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025
Putin’s military production is cannibalizing his country’s civilian economy.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2025
After two inattentive supervisors leave a group of miners trapped underground following a methane explosion during a Valentine’s Day dance, one miner must cannibalize his deceased comrades to survive until he is freed from the shaft — a week later.
—Brooke Knisley, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cannibalize
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Cite this Entry
“Cannibalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cannibalize. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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