autophages

Noun

autophage (plural autophages)

1. One who or that which eats itself.
   • Racism's link to the franchise makes democracy an autophage that threatens to eat itself because citizens generally become anxious about losing their right to vote.2023, Adebowale Akande, Politics Between Nations: Power, Peace, and Diplomacy, page 30
2. A rocket that consumes parts of its own structure as fuel.