cannibalize

Word family

can·ni·bal·ize (also cannibalise British EnglishBrE) /ˈkænəbəlaɪz/ verb [transitiveT]

1 USE somethingto take parts of one machine to use in another, for example to repair it 拆卸利用，拆取〔可利用的机器零件〕

The truck was cannibalized for parts.

这辆卡车的零件被拆除利用。

2. technical if one of a company’s products cannibalizes another, it takes sales away from it 〔公司的一种产品〕抢走，夺走〔另一种产品的销售额〕

Examples from the Corpus

cannibalize• Most of the craft had been cannibalized and ripped apart.• It was suggested that female spiders, by cannibalizing courting males, have actively selected for small male size.• We cannibalized the parts off of the other five generators.• The competition between superstores and malls has gotten so bad that some companies are cannibalizing themselves.

From Longman Business Dictionary

cannibalizecan·ni·bal·ize /ˈkænəbəlaɪz/ (also cannibalise British EnglishBrE) verb [transitiveT]

1MARKETING if one of a company’s new products cannibalizes an older one, it takes sales away from it

Healthy Choice was a best seller without cannibalizing sales of its other frozen food brands.

2MANUFACTURING to take parts from one machine to use in another, for example to repair it

By the time the replacement part arrived, the helicopter had been cannibalized for spare parts.

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus

BNC: 43054 COCA: 22996

cannibalize

To eat in a particular way: bite, bolt, cannibalize...