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View synonyms for prey

prey

[ prey ]

noun

  1. an animal hunted or seized for food, especially by a carnivorous animal.
  2. a person or thing that is the victim of an enemy, a swindler, a disease, etc:

    a con man looking for his next prey.

    Synonyms: gull, dupe, mark

  3. the action or habit of preying:

    a beast of prey.

  4. Archaic. booty or plunder.


verb (used without object)

  1. to seize and devour prey, as an animal does (usually followed by on or upon ):

    Foxes prey on rabbits.

  2. to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder:

    The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements.

  3. to exert a harmful or destructive influence:

    His worries preyed upon his mind.

  4. to victimize another or others (usually followed by on or upon ):

    loan sharks that prey upon poor people.

prey

/ preɪ /

noun

  1. an animal hunted or captured by another for food
  2. a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc
  3. beast of prey
    an animal that preys on others for food
  4. bird of prey
    a bird that preys on others for food
  5. an archaic word for booty 1
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. to hunt or seize food by killing other animals
  2. to make a victim (of others), as by profiting at their expense
  3. to exert a depressing or obsessive effect (on the mind, spirits, etc); weigh heavily (upon)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈpreyer, noun
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Other Words From

  • preyer noun
  • un·preying adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of prey1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English prei(e), preye, “booty, plunder, prey,” from Old French proie, praie, preie, from Latin praeda; akin to prehendere to grasp, seize; prehension
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Word History and Origins

Origin of prey1

C13: from Old French preie, from Latin praeda booty; see predatory
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. fall prey (to), to be victimized, harmed, or killed: fall prey to internet scams.

    chickens that fell prey to a hawk;

    fall prey to internet scams.

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Example Sentences

In this case, unlike the scenario of not being eaten, your hope is the bike thief will move on to easier prey.

Many barges were stuck at sea and became easy prey for pirates.

From Ozy

This is the longest known prey of a marine reptile from the dinosaur age, and may be the oldest direct evidence of a marine reptile eating an animal larger than a human, researchers report August 20 in iScience.

Bigger dingoes can hunt bigger prey, notes Letnic, which could have unknown impacts on Australian ecosystems.

The new cytosine-converting enzyme, however, was as lethal to mammalian cells as it was to bacterial prey.

And they prey on those that society will be least likely to believe.

As he relishes his triumph, a larger, grinning version of the man materializes in the background, eyeing his prey.

When it comes to protecting birds of prey, Illinois state law can be an ass.

Yes, Levine plays the role of a stalker and Prinsloo that of his “prey,” but she never comes across as a victim.

The trucking roads make it easier for predators to wipe out prey.

When a hungry lion is watching for prey, the sight of any animal will make him commence stalking it.

He usually seizes his prey by the flank near the hind leg, or by the throat below the jaw.

Now it seemed to crouch as though ready to spring, and I could hear the savage growling as of some beast of prey.

They appeared and vanished about the corners of the Islands and promontories like birds swooping after prey.

It was monstrous that this English damask rose should fall a prey to so detestable a person as the Comte de Lussigny.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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