prey on
Idioms-
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]
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Hunt, especially in order to eat, as in Their cat preys on all the rodents in the neighborhood . [c. 1600]
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Exert a baneful or injurious effect, as in Guilt preyed on his mind . [c. 1700]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Brown tree snakes are known to eat other snakes in their native range, but there is little evidence that they frequently prey on one another in Guam.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Minks also prey on ground-nesting birds such as snipe, lapwing and waterfowl, as well as kingfishers and sand martins.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
They say the schemes prey on fear of the legal system and the social stigma that comes with being associated with criminal investigations, trapping even highly educated professionals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
“And those individuals who prey on children for their own sexual gratification will be identified, they will be arrested, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026
I squeeze my lids shut tight for a moment, to track her as I would prey on a hunt.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
