6 dictionary results for: prey
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
prey
[prey] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[prey] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used without object)
| 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, a swindler, a disease, etc.; gull. |
| 3. | the action or habit of preying: a beast of prey. |
| 4. | Archaic. booty or plunder. |
| 5. | to seize and devour prey, as an animal does (usually fol. by on or upon): 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 influence: His worries preyed upon his mind. |
| 8. | to victimize another or others (usually fol. by on or upon): loan sharks that prey upon the poor. |
[Origin: 1200–50; ME preye < OF < L praeda booty, prey; akin to prehendere to grasp, seize (see prehension)
]
] —Related forms
preyer, noun
—Synonyms 2. dupe, target.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| prey
(prā) Pronunciation Key
n.
intr.v. preyed, prey·ing, preys
[Middle English preie, from Old French, from Latin praeda, booty, prey; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.] prey'er n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
prey (n.)
prey (n.)
1240, "animal hunted for food," from O.Fr. preie "booty, animal taken in the chase" (1140), from L. præda "booty, plunder, game hunted," earlier præheda, related to prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile). The verb meaning "to plunder, pillage, ravage" is attested from 1297, from O.Fr. preer, earlier preder (c.1040), from L.L. prædare. Its sense of "to kill and devour" is attested from c.1340.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| prey | |
noun | |
| 1. | 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" |
| 2. | animal hunted or caught for food |
verb | |
| 1. | profit from in an exploitatory manner; "He feeds on her insecurity" |
| 2. | prey on or hunt for; "These mammals predate certain eggs" [syn: raven] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Prey
Prey\, n. [OF. preie, F. proie, L. praeda, probably for praeheda. See Prehensile, and cf. Depredate, Predatory.] Anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest. --Num. xxxi. 12. 2. That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey. --Job iv. ii. Already sees herself the monster's prey. --Dryden. 3. The act of devouring other creatures; ravage. Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, . . . lion in prey. --Shak. Beast of prey, a carnivorous animal; one that feeds on the flesh of other animals.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Prey
Prey\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Preyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Preying.] [OF. preier, preer, L. praedari, fr. praeda. See Prey, n.] To take booty; to gather spoil; to ravage; to take food by violence. More pity that the eagle should be mewed, While kites and buzzards prey at liberty. --Shak. To prey on or upon. (a) To take prey from; to despoil; to pillage; to rob. --Shak. (b) To seize as prey; to take for food by violence; to seize and devour. --Shak. (c) To wear away gradually; to cause to waste or pine away; as, the trouble preyed upon his mind. --Addison.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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