prey

P0504600 (prā)n.1. a. An animal hunted or caught by another for food: The leopard carried its prey into a tree.b. The collection of animals typically hunted and eaten by a predator: the acoustic location of prey by barn owls.2. a. An object or victim of attack: ships that became the prey of pirates.b. One that is subjected to or afflicted with something: was prey to depression.c. One that is deceived or taken advantage of by another: easy prey for swindlers.3. Archaic a. The act or practice of preying.b. Plunder; booty.intr.v. preyed, prey·ing, preys 1. To hunt, catch, or eat as prey: Owls prey on mice.2. To victimize or make a profit at someone else's expense: swindlers who prey upon the weak.3. To plunder or pillage: Vikings preying on coastal settlements.4. To exert a baneful or injurious effect: Remorse preyed on his mind.

[Middle English preie, from Old French, from Latin praeda, booty, prey; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]

prey′er n.

prey

(preɪ) n1. (Zoology) an animal hunted or captured by another for food2. a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc3. (Animals) beast of prey an animal that preys on others for food4. (Animals) bird of prey a bird that preys on others for food5. an archaic word for booty¹vb (intr; often foll by on or upon) 6. (Zoology) to hunt or seize food by killing other animals7. to make a victim (of others), as by profiting at their expense8. to exert a depressing or obsessive effect (on the mind, spirits, etc); weigh heavily (upon)[C13: from Old French preie, from Latin praeda booty; see predatory] ˈpreyer n

prey

(preɪ)

n. 1. an animal hunted or seized for food, esp. by a carnivorous animal. 2. a person or thing that is the victim of an enemy, disease, swindler, injurious agency, etc. 3. the action or habit of preying: a beast of prey. 4. Archaic. booty or plunder. v.i. 5. to seize and devour prey: Foxes prey on rabbits. 6. to make raids or attacks for booty or plunder: The Vikings preyed on coastal settlements. 7. to exert a harmful or destructive and often obsessive influence: The problem preyed upon his mind. 8. to victimize another or others: loan sharks who prey upon the poor. (usu. fol. by on or upon)[1200–50; Middle English preye < Old French < Latin praeda booty, prey]prey′er, n.

prey

Past participle: preyed
Gerund: preying

Imperative
prey
prey

Present
I prey
you prey
he/she/it preys
we prey
you prey
they prey

Preterite
I preyed
you preyed
he/she/it preyed
we preyed
you preyed
they preyed

Present Continuous
I am preying
you are preying
he/she/it is preying
we are preying
you are preying
they are preying

Present Perfect
I have preyed
you have preyed
he/she/it has preyed
we have preyed
you have preyed
they have preyed

Past Continuous
I was preying
you were preying
he/she/it was preying
we were preying
you were preying
they were preying

Past Perfect
I had preyed
you had preyed
he/she/it had preyed
we had preyed
you had preyed
they had preyed

Future
I will prey
you will prey
he/she/it will prey
we will prey
you will prey
they will prey

Future Perfect
I will have preyed
you will have preyed
he/she/it will have preyed
we will have preyed
you will have preyed
they will have preyed

Future Continuous
I will be preying
you will be preying
he/she/it will be preying
we will be preying
you will be preying
they will be preying

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been preying
you have been preying
he/she/it has been preying
we have been preying
you have been preying
they have been preying

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been preying
you will have been preying
he/she/it will have been preying
we will have been preying
you will have been preying
they will have been preying

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been preying
you had been preying
he/she/it had been preying
we had been preying
you had been preying
they had been preying

Conditional
I would prey
you would prey
he/she/it would prey
we would prey
you would prey
they would prey

Past Conditional
I would have preyed
you would have preyed
he/she/it would have preyed
we would have preyed
you would have preyed
they would have preyed

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	prey - a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence; "he fell prey to muggers"; "everyone was fair game"; "the target of a manhunt"fair game, quarry, targetvictim - an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
	2.	prey - animal hunted or caught for foodquarryanimal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
Verb	1.	prey - profit from in an exploitatory manner; "He feeds on her insecurity"feedexploit, work - use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy"
	2.	prey - prey on or hunt for; "These mammals predate certain eggs"raven, predateforage - wander and feed; "The animals forage in the woods"

prey

noun1. quarry, game, kill These animals were the prey of hyenas.2. victim, target, mark, mug (Brit. slang), dupe, fall guy (informal) Old people are easy prey for con men.prey on something or someone1. hunt, live off, eat, seize, devour, feed upon The larvae prey on small aphids.2. victimize, bully, intimidate, exploit, take advantage of, bleed (informal), blackmail, terrorize unscrupulous men who preyed on young runaways3. worry, trouble, burden, distress, haunt, hang over, oppress, weigh down, weigh heavily This was the question that preyed on his mind.

Birds of prey

accipiter, bald eagle, barn owl, bateleur eagle, boobook, brown owl, buzzard, caracara, condor, Cooper's hawk, duck hawk, eagle, eagle-hawk or wedge-tailed eagle, falcon, falconet, golden eagle, goshawk, gyrfalcon or gerfalcon, harrier, hawk, hawk owl, hobby, honey buzzard, hoot owl, horned owl, kestrel, kite, lammergeier, lammergeyer, bearded vulture, or (archaic) ossifrage, lanner, little owl, long-eared owl, merlin, Montagu's harrier, mopoke or (N.Z.) ruru, osprey, fish eagle, or (archaic) ossifrage, owl, peregrine falcon, red kite or (archaic) gled(e), rough-legged buzzard, saker, screech owl, sea eagle, erne, or ern, secretary bird, snowy owl, sparrowhawk, tawny owl, turkey buzzard or vulture, vulture

prey

nounOne that is made to suffer injury, loss, or death:casualty, victim.

Translations

猎物被捕食的动物

prey

(prei) – plural prey – noun a bird or animal, birds or animals, that is/are hunted by other birds or animals for food. The lion tore at its prey. 被捕食的动物（牺牲品） beast/bird of prey an animal, eg the lion, or a bird, eg the eagle, that kills and eats others. 食肉兽（或鸟） prey on/upon to attack as prey. Hawks prey upon smaller birds.捕食

prey is a noun or a verb: a bird of prey (not pray); to prey on (not pray on) smaller creatures.

prey

→ 猎物zhCN

prey

prey on (one's) mind

To cause one a lot of worry, concern, or anxiety, especially for a long period of time. I know that money issues have been preying on his mind ever since the company began issuing pay cuts. I really acted like a jerk on Friday night, and it's been preying on my mind all weekend long.See also: mind, on, prey

fall prey to (someone or something)

To have one's vulnerability exploited by someone or something, leading to harm, destruction, or manipulation; to become a victim of someone or something. It is unfortunately very common for elderly people to fall prey to online scam artists, who take advantage of their lack of technological know-how. Many major cities have fallen prey to terrorist activity in recent months.See also: fall, prey

prey (up)on (someone or something)

1. Of a predatory animal, to hunt and feed on another animal. Mountain lions have been coming down into town to prey on people's pets. You can tell that this bird preys upon insects by the shape of its beak.2. To exploit, victimize, or take advantage of someone or something. There are many thieves and con-artists in the city who prey on unsuspecting tourists. These megacorporations are all too willing to prey upon consumers.See also: prey

be prey to (someone or something)

To have one's vulnerability exploited by someone or something, leading to harm, destruction, or manipulation; to become a victim of someone or something. It is unfortunately very common for elderly people to be prey to online scam artists, who take advantage of their lack of technological know-how. Many major cities have been prey to terrorist activity in recent months.See also: prey

prey on something

[for an animal] to feed on another animal as a matter of habit or preference. Owls prey on mice. Many birds prey on snakes.See also: on, prey

prey (up)on someone or something

Fig. to take advantage of someone or something. (See also prey on something. Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The people of that island prey on tourists and do not give them good treatment. I really don't want to seem to prey upon your kindness.See also: on, prey

prey on

1. 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] 2. Hunt, especially in order to eat, as in Their cat preys on all the rodents in the neighborhood. [c. 1600] 3. Exert a baneful or injurious effect, as in Guilt preyed on his mind. [c. 1700] See also: on, prey

fall prey to something

COMMON If you fall prey to something bad, it happens to you or you are affected by it. On the flight from Paris to Toulon, Mechiche fell prey to panic. Children in evacuation centres are falling prey to disease.See also: fall, prey, something

fall prey to

1 be hunted and killed by. 2 be vulnerable to or overcome by.See also: fall, prey

be/fall ˈprey to something

(formal) be harmed or affected by something bad: He was often prey to doubt and despair. ♢ Thousands of small businesses are falling prey to high interest rates. Prey is an animal, a bird, etc. that is hunted, killed and eaten by another animal.See also: fall, prey, something

ˌprey on somebody’s ˈmind

(also ˌplay on somebody’s ˈmind) worry or trouble somebody very much: The death of his father is really preying on his mind at the moment. He thinks it was his fault. ♢ The question of whether to accept the new job and move to Scotland had been playing on his mind for days.See also: mind, on, prey

prey on

v.1. To hunt and kill something for food: Owls prey on mice.2. To exploit or make a profit at the expense of someone; take advantage of someone: Pickpockets often prey on unsuspecting tourists.3. To exert a harmful or injurious effect on something or someone: Guilt preyed on him, and eventually led him to confess.See also: on, prey

fall prey to

To be put into such a vulnerable position as to be at risk of harm, destruction, or invasion: a person who fell prey to swindlers; did not want the country to fall prey to terrorists.See also: fall, prey

prey

prey

prey

prey

prey

prey

Birds of prey

prey

prey

prey

prey

prey on (one's) mind

fall prey to (someone or something)

prey (up)on (someone or something)

be prey to (someone or something)

prey on something

prey (up)on someone or something

prey on

fall prey to something

fall prey to

be/fall ˈprey to something

ˌprey on somebody’s ˈmind

prey on

fall prey to

prey

prey

prey

PIGY

prey

prey

Synonyms for prey

noun quarry

Synonyms

noun victim

Synonyms

phrase prey on something or someone: hunt

Synonyms

phrase prey on something or someone: victimize

Synonyms

phrase prey on something or someone: worry

Synonyms

Synonyms for prey

noun one that is made to suffer injury, loss, or death

Synonyms

Synonyms for prey

noun a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence

Synonyms

Related Words

noun animal hunted or caught for food

Synonyms

Related Words

verb profit from in an exploitatory manner

Synonyms

Related Words

verb prey on or hunt for

Synonyms

Related Words