cannibalise

Verb

cannibalise (third-person singular simple present cannibalises, present participle cannibalising, simple past and past participle cannibalised)

1. (UK, transitive) To eat (parts of) another of one's own species.
   • The female black widow spider is known to cannibalise the male.
2. (UK, transitive) To remove parts of (a machine, etc) for use in other similar machines.
   • to cannibalize an old laptop for parts
   • According to our correspondent, at least one of the Type 2s has had to be cannibalised to facilitate repairs, as spares are often in short supply.1962 April, “Motive power miscellany: Scottish Region”, in Modern Railways, page 284
3. (UK, transitive) To reduce sales or market share (for one of one's own products) by introducing another.
   • iPad mini to cannibalize 1M full-size iPad sales.2012 October 17, electronista
4. (UK) Rework old material; rehash.
   • When the album succeeds, such as on the swaggering, Queen-esque “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us,” it does so on The Darkness’ own terms—that is, as a random ’80s-cliché generator. But with so many tired, lazy callbacks to its own threadbare catalog (including “Love Is Not The Answer,” a watery echo of the...2012 August 21, Jason Heller, “The Darkness: Hot Cakes (Music Review)”, in The Onion AV Club