prey

[prey]

noun

1. an animal hunted or seized for food, especially by a carnivorous animal.

2. a person or thing that is the victim of an enemy, a swindler, a disease, etc.

   a con man looking for his next prey.

   Synonyms: mark, gull, dupe

3. the action or habit of preying.

   a beast of prey.

4. Archaic.,  booty or plunder.

verb (used without object)

1. to seize and devour prey, as an animal does (usually followed by on orupon ).

   Foxes prey on rabbits.

2. to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder.

   The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements.

3. to exert a harmful or destructive influence.

   His worries preyed upon his mind.

4. to victimize another or others (usually followed by on orupon ).

   loan sharks that prey upon poor people.

prey

/ preɪ /

noun

1. an animal hunted or captured by another for food

2. a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc

3. an animal that preys on others for food

4. a bird that preys on others for food

5. an archaic word for booty 1

verb

1. to hunt or seize food by killing other animals

2. to make a victim (of others), as by profiting at their expense

3. to exert a depressing or obsessive effect (on the mind, spirits, etc); weigh heavily (upon)

Other Word Forms

• preyer noun
• unpreying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prey¹

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; prehension

Word History and Origins

Origin of prey¹

C13: from Old French preie, from Latin praeda booty; see _predatory

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. fall prey (to), to be victimized, harmed, or killed: fall prey to internet scams.

   chickens that fell prey to a hawk;

   fall prey to internet scams.

Example Sentences

Sunflower sea stars used to prey on the urchins, keeping them in check.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, the Jane Goodall Institute now runs a longstanding baboon research project based partly on the fact that baboons are important chimpanzee prey.

From Salon

She also found that chimps hunted prey, ate meat, and were capable of a range of emotions and behaviors similar to those of humans, including filial love, grief and violence bordering on warfare.

From Los Angeles Times

Girl A told the jury she may have been preyed on by hundreds of men as her phone number was passed around, adding "there was that many it was hard to keep count".

From BBC

In Season 2, Banda primarily appears in the Jack of Hearts game in the prison where one person recognizes him as a serial killer who preyed on women in the real world.

From Salon