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.
Free roaming cats also prey on European mantises, which are already under pressure from competition with the invasive newcomers and are declining in many peri urban environments.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Scammers often prey on older people, many of whom are lonely and don’t have a large network to bounce ideas off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
"The platform is designed to take advantage of kids' developmental needs and prey on their vulnerabilities."
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
“We deal with violations regarding raptors and birds of prey on a relative frequency but I haven’t seen anything to this level of disregard for the animal in quite a while.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
In the waters below, their young, the dragonfly nymphs, or naiads, prey on the aquatic stages of mosquitoes and other insects.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
