cannibal

/ˈkænɪbəl/
noun
  1. A person who eats the flesh of other human beings.
    • In the movie, the cannibal lived alone in the remote jungle.
    • Historians debate whether some ancient groups were actually cannibals.
    • The explorer wrote about a tribe that was said to be cannibals.
  2. An animal that eats others of its own species.
    • In times of food shortage, a cannibal rat may eat its own young.
    • Some species of spiders are cannibals and eat their mates.
    • The aquarium had to separate the fish to prevent a cannibal from attacking the others.
  3. A person or thing that uses or consumes parts of something similar, especially in a destructive way.
    • The old factory was a cannibal of resources, using up all the local water supply.
    • In the tech world, a cannibal product is one that steals sales from another product made by the same company.
    • The company became a cannibal, buying up and dismantling its smaller competitors.
What does "cannibal" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean