PREY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does prey mean? 

• PREY (noun)
  The noun PREY has 2 senses:

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

2. animal hunted or caught for food

  Familiarity information: PREY used as a noun is rare.

• PREY (verb)
  The verb PREY has 2 senses:

1. profit from in an exploitatory manner

2. prey on or hunt for

  Familiarity information: PREY used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PREY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

fair game; prey; quarry; target

Context example:

the target of a manhunt

Hypernyms ("prey" is a kind of...):

victim (an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance)

Derivation:

prey (profit from in an exploitatory manner)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Animal hunted or caught for food

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

prey; quarry

Hypernyms ("prey" is a kind of...):

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Derivation:

prey (prey on or hunt for)

• PREY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they prey    ... he / she / it preys   
Past simple: preyed   
Past participle: preyed   
-ing form: preying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Profit from in an exploitatory manner

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

feed; prey

Context example:

He feeds on her insecurity

Hypernyms (to "prey" is one way to...):

exploit; work (use or manipulate to one's advantage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Prey on or hunt for

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

predate; prey; raven

Context example:

These mammals predate certain eggs

Hypernyms (to "prey" is one way to...):

forage (wander and feed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

prey (animal hunted or caught for food)

 Context examples 

It's all about how predators and prey interact.

(Sharks, the seagrass protectors, National Science Foundation)

One snake can be scary enough, but a new study suggests some of the slithering reptiles hunt for prey in groups.

(Snakes Hunt in Groups, Study Suggests, VOA)

Such were the events that preyed on the heart of Felix and rendered him, when I first saw him, the most miserable of his family.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The matter seemed preying on his mind, and so I determined to use it—to "be cruel only to be kind."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

One set stimulated prey pursuit behavior, such as stalking, and the other stimulated the animal to use its jaw and neck muscles.

(Geneticists produce laser-activated killer mice, Wikinews)

The voice, too, when he spoke, was as deep and as fierce as the growl of a beast of prey.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

We desire that, too; that he may not by any chance be made her prey again.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Their biology, how they capture prey and defend their nests, is still in need of description.

(Dracula Ant Found to Be Fastest Creature on Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Colonel Forster is a sensible man, and will keep her out of any real mischief; and she is luckily too poor to be an object of prey to anybody.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)