prey

1 of 2

noun

ˈprā 

plural prey also preys

1

a

: an animal taken by a predator as food

b

: one that is helpless or unable to resist attack : victim

was prey to his own appetites

2

: the act or habit of preying

3

archaic : spoil, booty

prey

2 of 2

verb

preyed; preying

intransitive verb

1

a

: to seize and devour prey

b

: to commit violence or robbery or fraud

2

: to have an injurious, destructive, or wasting effect

worry preyed upon his mind

3

: to make raids for the sake of booty

preyer noun

Synonyms

Noun

• chase
• quarry

Verb

• feed (on, upon, or off)

Examples of prey in a Sentence

Noun

The lion stalked its prey.

The bird circled above looking for prey.

The seals are easy prey for sharks.

Too often elderly people are easy prey for swindlers and other criminals.

Verb

a fox has been preying on the chickens

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Without such guardrails, well-meaning AI initiatives quickly fall prey to chaos and inconsistency. —Brent Gleeson, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

The scientists noticed a drop in their prey, such as small pelagic fishes in the case of seals and smaller benthic sharks in the case of sevengill sharks. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 27 Apr. 2025

Verb

Detectives found that Kappen, who was eventually identified as the killer decades later, had preyed on the girls outside of nightclubs on Saturday nights and lured them to his car before raping and killing them, according to Yorkshire Live. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025

It is believed that this snake preyed on large vertebrates, such as crocodiles, and used constriction to overpower its prey, similar to modern-day anacondas. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English preie, from Anglo-French, from Latin praeda; akin to Latin prehendere to grasp, seize — more at get

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French preier, from Latin praedari, from praeda

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing prey

• be/fall prey to
• bird of prey
• prey on the mind of
• prey on/upon
• prey on/upon someone's mind
• prey/weigh on someone's mind

Rhymes for prey

• ay
• bay
• bey
• brae
• cay
• chez
• dey
• dray
• fay
• fey
• flay
• fray

Kids Definition

prey

1 of 2 noun

ˈprā 

1

: an animal hunted or killed by another animal for food

2

: a person who is helpless or unable to escape attack : victim

3

: the act or habit of seizing and pouncing upon

prey

2 of 2 verb

preyed; preying

1

a

: to seize and eat something as prey

b

: to do violent or dishonest acts

robbers who preyed on travelers

2

: to have a harmful effect

fears that prey on the mind