eat one's young

verb

To betray a constituent or charge out of self-serving interests or desperation.

“With bankruptcy looming, the corporation eventually began eating its young; massive layoffs were announced, and all employee benefits and bonuses were suspended.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbeat one's young (third-person singular simple present eats one's young, present participle eating one's young, simple past ate one's young, past participle eaten one's young)

present singular third person eats one's young · participle present eating one's young · past ate one's young · participle past eaten one's young

  1. To betray a constituent or charge out of self-serving interests or desperation.

    With bankruptcy looming, the corporation eventually began eating its young; massive layoffs were announced, and all employee benefits and bonuses were suspended.

Origin

The term is derived from the zoological phenomenon of animals killing and consuming their own young for sustenance.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eat one's young. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20young

MLA

“eat one's young.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20young. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eat one's young,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eat%20one's%20young.

Source: eat one's young on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.