cannibalize: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
B2Formal and Technical
Quick answer
What does “cannibalize” mean?
To take parts from one machine, vehicle, or system to use in another, often causing damage to the source.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
To take parts from one machine, vehicle, or system to use in another, often causing damage to the source.
To take sales, customers, or resources from one part of an organization or product line to benefit another, potentially harming the original source.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
British English also commonly uses the spelling 'cannibalise'. The usage patterns and meanings are otherwise identical.
Connotations
Identical negative connotation in both varieties. The term implies inefficiency, waste, or internal competition.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American business and automotive journalism, but common in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “cannibalize” in a Sentence
[Subject: company/product] cannibalize [Object: sales/market] of [Source][Subject: technician] cannibalize [Object: part] from [Source] for [Recipient]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “cannibalize” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The firm feared its new service would cannibalise its existing revenue streams.
- We had to cannibalise the broken photocopier to fix the one in reception.
American English
- The cheaper smartphone model is cannibalizing sales of the flagship device.
- They cannibalized three old trucks to build one working vehicle.
adjective
British English
- The cannibalisation rate was a key metric in the product launch report.
- They noted a cannibalising effect on the core brand.
American English
- The product launch had a significant cannibalization effect.
- We tracked cannibalizing sales through regional data.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
The new budget model will likely cannibalize sales of our premium product.
Academic
The study examined how platform updates cannibalize user engagement with legacy features.
Everyday
I had to cannibalize my old laptop for a replacement keyboard.
Technical
The engineers cannibalized the decommissioned aircraft for servicable avionics.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “cannibalize”
- Using it to mean simple 'competition' without the element of harm to one's own products/resources. Confusing with 'capitalize'. Incorrectly applying to people (e.g., 'The company cannibalized its staff').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Rarely. It almost always carries a negative connotation of waste or self-inflicted harm. A possible positive spin might be 'strategic cannibalization' where sacrificing an old product is a planned step for innovation.
Primarily, yes. Its core domains are mechanics/engineering (taking physical parts) and business/marketing (taking sales, customers). It is not idiomatically used for people (e.g., 'cannibalizing employees').
'Compete with' is neutral and can be external or internal. 'Cannibalize' is specific: it means to compete with AND harm your own existing products or resources from within the same organization.
Cannibalization (US) / Cannibalisation (UK). Example: 'The cannibalization of our market share was a serious concern.'
To take parts from one machine, vehicle, or system to use in another, often causing damage to the source.
Cannibalize is usually formal and technical in register.
Cannibalize: in British English it is pronounced /ˈkanɪbəlʌɪz/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈkænəbəˌlaɪz/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “To eat one's own young (related conceptual idiom)”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a cannibal eating another person. Similarly, to 'cannibalize' is for one product or machine to 'consume' the parts or sales of another.
Conceptual Metaphor
COMPETITION/INNOVATION IS CANNIBALISM; AN ORGANIZATION IS A BODY (that consumes itself).
Practice
Quiz
In a business context, 'cannibalize' most accurately means: