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: mark, gull, dupe

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 orupon ).

   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 orupon ).

   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. an animal that preys on others for food

4. a bird that preys on others for food

5. an archaic word for booty 1

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)

Other Word Forms

• preyer noun
• unpreying adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of prey¹

C13: from Old French preie, from Latin praeda booty; see _predatory

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.

Example Sentences

Several investigations, including by the BBC, have shown that many of them have fallen prey to cross-border visa scams and lost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Read more on BBC

That very vulnerability is what is preyed upon by perpetrators.

Read more on Salon

Using its pores for filtration, the stationary sponge creates its own currents to siphon its prey—as it must, if it is to feed and remain motionless.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The case against her was threadbare, a product of postwar rancor, false testimony and manipulative journalists who had preyed on her naivete.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Their prey included larger species such as California sea lions, northern elephant seals, gray whale calves and Pacific white-sided dolphins, and they typically hunted in groups averaging nine individuals.

Read more on Science Daily