prey
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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preys,
present (3rd person singular)
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preyed,
past participle, past
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preying
present participle
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to seize and devour prey, as an animal does (usually followed by on orupon ).
Foxes prey on rabbits.
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to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder.
The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements.
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to exert a harmful or destructive influence.
His worries preyed upon his mind.
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to victimize another or others (usually followed by on orupon ).
loan sharks that prey upon poor people.
idioms
noun
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an animal hunted or captured by another for food
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a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc
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an animal that preys on others for food
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a bird that preys on others for food
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an archaic word for booty 1
verb
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to hunt or seize food by killing other animals
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to make a victim (of others), as by profiting at their expense
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to exert a depressing or obsessive effect (on the mind, spirits, etc); weigh heavily (upon)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preysimple
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preyssimple
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have preyedperfect
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has preyedperfect
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am preyingprogressive
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are preyingprogressive
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is preyingprogressive
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have been preyingperfect progressive
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has been preyingperfect progressive
Past
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preyedsimple
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had preyedperfect
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was preyingprogressive
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were preyingprogressive
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had been preyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prey
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; see prehension
Explanation
Prey is an animal hunted for food. If you're a delicious-looking deer during hunting season, watch your back! You're the prey for all those guys in orange jackets carrying rifles. Prey can also mean the human subject of an attack, or ridicule, by another person. Remember those bullies in school? The younger kids whom they shoved into lockers were their prey. Prey can also be used as a verb, meaning to hunt or go after. I bet most people would agree it's better to prey on something else than to be the preyed upon!
Vocabulary lists containing prey
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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Holes
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Word Generation Science - Life Science
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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.
See Examples For:
In other situations, I hoped that my studded accessories would communicate to predators that I do not identify as prey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Forever, the strategy for fishing with artificial lures has been to “match the hatch”—to replicate the baitfish, bugs and other prey that fish snack on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Its snout was shorter, its skull was more strongly reinforced, and its enlarged jaw muscles would have helped it snap down on larger prey.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
Or did they fall prey to the old myths of its transcendency?
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
She must have ventured out to hunt during low tide and brought her prey back to eat in safety.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
It’s a clever and nasty bit of social engineering — a bait and switch that preys on people’s curiosity and the simple pleasure of feeling included.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
"The ants it preys on have adhesive pads on their feet, so the contraction of the bundle of tension lines has to overcome a force of many times the ant's body weight to lift it."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
“She had difficulties already in her life, and there’s no sugar coating that. So we had to navigate this argument that what social-media addiction does is it preys upon the vulnerable more times than not.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Even if you’re not a sharksploitation expert, the film effectively preys on the average moviegoer’s knowledge of the subgenre to make plenty of room for fresh surprises.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2025
After all these years, Richard Parker still preys on his mind.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
According to Mr. Hart, it likely preyed on ancient fish such as Cleithrolepis.
From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026
“You preyed on these women’s trust and their spirituality and you manipulated them for your own personal gratification,” she told the actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
He has long maintained that his company, which started in 2011 and offered mortgages for as little as a 1% down payment, has not preyed on its customers.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2026
Vecna preyed on Max for much of Season 4, and in the final episode, playing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” on repeat from her Walkman is not enough to save her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Their region was inhabited by large herds of antelope, wildebeest, gnus—and the lions that preyed on them.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
More than half a century before the #MeToo movement shook the global entertainment industry, Monroe denounced the Hollywood "wolves" preying on female talent.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
"Kank coexisted with larger carnivores such as Maip macrothorax, a formidable megaraptorid dinosaur more than 10 metres long, which may have been capable of preying upon it," Dr. Motta adds.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
“There’s so much advice out there that isn’t wise. There’s so much out there preying on them: buy-now-pay-later, prediction markets, cryptocurrency. It’s all looming.”
From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026
She scrolls job advertisements online, fearful of internet scammers preying on her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
And ever since that swimming pool had been preying on Etta’s mind.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
