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
-
was preyingprogressive
-
were preyingprogressive
-
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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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:
Once he’s managed to hurl himself past the surf to rest atop an underwater cliff, the darkness below is as scary as if we’d regressed into primordial prey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
A relatively small carnivore might have regarded a human as worthwhile prey, whereas an enormous hunter such as T. rex may have preferred much larger animals.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Exploring the dunes at night, Raul saw many scorpions searching for prey but as temperatures rose after sunrise, the scorpion dug into the sand to escape the intense heat.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
A person suffering the onset of cognitive decline might easily fall prey to fraud attempts that target them through their smartphones.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Pater Lumley jumped to assist as Old Timothy seized his prey by the collar.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The UK was once home to large tuna fisheries, but overfishing of both the tuna and the smaller fish it preys on meant that by the 1960s it had largely disappeared.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
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
It is a market that preys on inequality and sells mothers’ bodies and babies’ lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
After all these years, Richard Parker still preys on his mind.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
New York court judge Analisa Torres said Guo had "preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China", taking their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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
Living in the eastern United States between 83 million and 76 million years ago, Deinosuchus schwimmeri was a school-bus-sized relative of modern alligators that preyed on dinosaurs.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 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
Instead they preyed on deer, horse, antelope, jackrabbit, and, now and then, giant turtle, as well as several species of rodent.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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
I haven’t seen Jackson all week, and his disappearance has been preying on my mind in a way I don’t like.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
