predation

American  

[pri-dey-shuhn] / prɪˈdeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. depredation; plundering.

2. act of plundering or robbing.

3. predatory behavior.

4. a relation between animals in which one organism captures and feeds on others.

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predation British  

/ prɪˈdeɪʃən /

noun

1. a relationship between two species of animal in a community, in which one (the predator) hunts, kills, and eats the other (the prey)

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Etymology

Origin of predation

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin praedātiōn-, stem of praedātiō “a plundering,” from praedāt(us) “plundered” (past participle of praedārī “to plunder, pillage”; see predator) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Predation is the act of preying on someone or something, especially when you're talking about animals. Nature shows can be hard to watch when they show the predation of an animal on a smaller, cuter animal. A predator is an animal that attacks a smaller, weaker animal, called the prey. So predation is the act of being a predator, catching and attacking. The noun predation is most commonly used to talk about groups like pirates or marauders who prey on innocent people. In fact, the Latin root word praedationem means a plundering or taking of booty. In fact, predation described people before it was applied to animals.

Example Sentences

There were 267 investigations opened into wolf-livestock predation in 2025, up from 74 the previous year.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026

Other threats to the population, such as predation by wolves, have been mitigated so that if the caribou are restored they should thrive in the wild.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026

"With this kind of predation, the status quo... just isn't possible," added Environment Minister Mathieu Lefevre, whose office said the change would be made official "in the coming weeks" in an executive order.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

When the research team applied population models to the data, the results showed that puma predation alone was unlikely to drive the Monte Leon penguin colony to extinction.

From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026

There is nothing resembling predation, and no pretense of an adversary stance on either side.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas