prey

[prey]

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noun

an animal hunted or seized for food, especially by a carnivorous animal.

a person or thing that is the victim of an enemy, a swindler, a disease, etc.; gull.

the action or habit of preying: a beast of prey.

Archaic. booty or plunder.

verb (used without object)

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

to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder: The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements.

to exert a harmful or destructive influence: His worries preyed upon his mind.

to victimize another or others (usually followed by on or upon): loan sharks that prey upon the poor.

Origin of prey

1200–50; Middle English preye < Old French < Latin praeda booty, prey; akin to prehendere to grasp, seize (see prehension)

Related formsprey·er, nounun·prey·ing, adjective

Can be confusedpray prayer prey

Synonyms for prey

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prey ON THESAURUS.COM

2. dupe, target.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prey on

intimidate, fleece, bully, haunt, plunder, exploit, devour, oppress, victimize, blackmail, bleed, burden, consume, distress, eat, hunt, load, raid, seize, tax

British Dictionary definitions for prey on

prey

noun

an animal hunted or captured by another for food

a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc

beast of prey an animal that preys on others for food

bird of prey a bird that preys on others for food

an archaic word for booty 1

verb (intr; often foll by on or upon)

to hunt or seize food by killing other animals

to make a victim (of others), as by profiting at their expense

to exert a depressing or obsessive effect (on the mind, spirits, etc); weigh heavily (upon)

Derived Formspreyer, noun

Word Origin for prey

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

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

Word Origin and History for prey on

prey

mid-13c., "animal hunted for food," also "that which is taken in war," from Old French preie "booty, animal taken in the chase" (mid-12c., Modern French proie), from Latin praeda "booty, plunder, game hunted," earlier praeheda, related to prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile).

prey

c.1300, "to plunder, pillage, ravage," from prey (n.) and in part from Old French preer, earlier preder (c.1040), from Late Latin praedare, from praeda (see prey (n.)). Its sense of "to kill and devour" is attested from mid-14c. Related: Preyed; preying.

Idioms and Phrases with prey on

prey on

Plunder or pillage; also, make a profit at someone else's expense, victimize. For example, Vikings preyed on the coastal towns of England, or The rich have been preying on the poor for centuries. [Late 1500s]

Hunt, especially in order to eat, as in Their cat preys on all the rodents in the neighborhood. [c. 1600]

Exert a baneful or injurious effect, as in Guilt preyed on his mind. [c. 1700]