From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcannibalcan‧ni‧bal /ˈkænəbəl/ noun [countable] 1 KILLa person who eats human flesh2 HBAan animal that eats the flesh of other animals of the same kind —cannibalism noun [uncountable] —cannibalistic /ˌkænəbəˈlɪstɪk◂/ adjective
Examples from the Corpus
cannibal• A cannibal I knew refused to eat clowns.• A cannibal track for me to find and stare at.• His travellers appeared on the whole disappointed not to be cooked by cannibals.• The robber bridegroom could be a drug pusher in-stead of a homicidal cannibal, for instance.• Let a man not speak of cannibal deeds among the blessed gods.• More horrifying than cannibals or Communards.• After the fish have spawned, remove the adults to prevent them from turning cannibal and eating the eggs.• Dietz, who once spent three days examining Wisconsin cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, has never talked with Davis.Origin cannibal (1500-1600) Spanish Canibal “member of the Carib people of the West Indies, who were said to eat human flesh”, from Arawakan Caniba, Carib; CARIB