4 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Prey \Prey\, noun [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Prey \Prey\, verb (used without an object) [imp. & p. p. {Preyed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Preying}.] [OF. preier, preer, L. praedari, fr. praeda. See
{Prey}, noun]
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 {To prey 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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
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" [syn: {quarry}, {target},
{fair game}]
2: animal hunted or caught for food [syn: {quarry}]
verb
1: profit from in an exploitatory manner; "He feeds on her
insecurity" [syn: {feed}]
2: prey on or hunt for; "These mammals predate certain eggs"
[syn: {raven}, {predate}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
79 Moby Thesaurus words for "prey":
aim, bamboozle, beasts of venery, big game, bully, burden, butt,
by-end, by-purpose, casualty, chase, cheat, consume, cozen,
defraud, depress, destination, destroy, devour, distress, dupe,
eat, end, end in view, exploit, fall guy, feed on, final cause,
flimflam, game, go after, goal, gull, hoodwink, hunt, intimidate,
kill, mark, martyr, mug, object, object in mind,
object of compassion, objective, oppress, outfox, outsmart, outwit,
poor devil, prey on, pursue, pursuit, pushover, quarry, quintain,
reason for being, rook, seize, snooker, stalk, strain, sufferer,
swindle, take advantage of, target, teleology, the hunted, trick,
ultimate aim, underdog, use, venery, vex, victim, victimize,
weigh on, weigh upon, worry, wretch
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