prey

The word “prey” means an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal. In plain terms, what a predator hunts and eats, or (as a verb) to hunt something, including figuratively exploiting people.

“Prey” is pronounced pray (/pɹeɪ/ in IPA).

Here is “prey” used in a sentence: “The hawk circled above, watching for prey in the field below.”

Depending on how it is used, “prey” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “prey” comes from Latin. From Old French preie, from Latin praeda ("plunder, booty"); related to "predator.".

“Prey” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Prey” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal.

Prey is the animal that is hunted and eaten, while the predator is the animal doing the hunting. In the phrase "a lion stalking its prey," the lion is the predator and the animal it hunts is the prey. The same animal can be both, such as a snake that eats mice but is hunted by hawks.

Prey and pray sound identical but are unrelated words. Prey refers to a hunted animal, or as a verb means to hunt or to exploit someone vulnerable, while pray means to address a god in worship. Write "birds of prey" and "prey on the weak," never "pray."

Both are correct and mean the same thing: to hunt something for food or to exploit someone vulnerable. "Prey on" is far more common in everyday writing, while "prey upon" sounds slightly more formal or literary. The verb is almost always followed by one of these prepositions rather than used alone.

Prey is normally uncountable and does not change in the plural: a lion may catch several prey animals, but they are still collectively "prey." The form "preys" exists only as the third-person singular of the verb, as in "the scammer preys on the elderly."