autophage

A1U1T1O1P3H4A1G2E1

noun

One who or that which eats itself.

Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounautophage (plural autophages)

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.

Origin

From auto- + -phage.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

autophage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autophage

MLA

“autophage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autophage. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “autophage,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/autophage.

Source: autophage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.