prey on

1. 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]

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

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

Example Sentences

The global police network said it was committed to "disrupting and dismantling the groups that prey on vulnerable individuals online".

From BBC

Those who work with victims of internet crimes say the thieves prey on people’s most basic desires: to be loved.

From Los Angeles Times

The president has been doing everything possible to bury his past associations with older men who allegedly prey on younger women.

From Los Angeles Times

The risk, he warns, "is that RT and other Russian disinformation efforts prey on and exploit the weaknesses of liberal democracy, while normalising Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and presenting Russia not as an authoritarian state but as some sort of benign power in global politics."

From BBC

"They are part of the environment and they are part of the food chain. There are animals that prey on them and rely on them as a source of food, but I don't think that the number of rats that we're seeing here is something that could have built up naturally," Mr Kinnear said.

From BBC

Related Words

• bully 
• devour 
• exploit 
• feed on www.thesaurus.com
• fleece 
• haunt 
• intimidate 
• oppress 
• plunder 
• take advantage of 
• victimize