cannibalism
cannibalism Lexical Profile
cannibalism Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The practice of eating the flesh of one's own species, whether by humans or by other animals.
"Marine biologists observed instances of cannibalism among overcrowded populations of juvenile crabs."
The removal of serviceable parts from damaged or retired equipment in order to repair other equipment of the same kind, or the reduction in sales of a company's existing product caused by the introduction of a new product by the same producer.
"The marketing team carefully priced the new tablet to avoid cannibalism of their flagship laptop line."
• Rhymes for cannibalism
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 18th century from 'cannibal' plus the suffix '-ism'. The root 'cannibal' derives from Spanish 'caníbal', a variant of 'Caribal', recorded by Christopher Columbus from the indigenous Arawakan name for the Carib people of the West Indies.