The present disclosure generally relate to chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that bind an engulfment receptor expressed on the surface of a phagocytic cell and activate the endogenous phagocytic signaling pathway. Also disclosed are compositions and methods useful for producing such CARs, nucleic acids encoding same, phagocytic cells that have been modified to include a targeted effector activity directed towards a cell of interest such as, e.g., a cancer cell, as well as for modifying a cell and/or for the treatment of various health disorders such as cancer, including solid tumor and hematologic malignancy.