Meaning of "prey" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD PREY

From Old French preie, from Latin praeda booty.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF PREY

prey  [preɪ]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PREY

Prey is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb prey in English.

WHAT DOES PREY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Predation

In ecology, predation is a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey. Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation often results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption. Other categories of consumption are herbivory, mycophagy and detritivory, the consumption of dead organic material. All these consumption categories fall under the rubric of consumer-resource systems. It can often be difficult to separate various types of feeding behaviors. For example, some parasitic species prey on a host organism and then lay their eggs on it for their offspring to feed on it while it continues to live or on its decaying corpse after it has died. The key characteristic of predation however is the predator's direct impact on the prey population. On the other hand, detritivores simply eat dead organic material arising from the decay of dead individuals and have no direct impact on the "donor" organism. Selective pressures imposed on one another often leads to an evolutionary arms race between prey and predator, resulting in various antipredator adaptations.

Definition of prey in the English dictionary

The first definition of prey in the dictionary is an animal hunted or captured by another for food. Other definition of prey is a person or thing that becomes the victim of a hostile person, influence, etc. Prey is also to hunt or seize food by killing other animals.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO PREY

PRESENT

Present

I prey

you prey

he/she/it preys

we prey

you prey

they prey

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

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

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I preyed

you preyed

he/she/it preyed

we preyed

you preyed

they 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

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

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will prey

you will prey

he/she/it will prey

we will prey

you will prey

they will prey

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

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 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

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would prey

you would prey

he/she/it would prey

we would prey

you would prey

they would prey

Conditional continuous

I would be preying

you would be preying

he/she/it would be preying

we would be preying

you would be preying

they would be preying

Conditional perfect

I would have prey

you would have prey

he/she/it would have prey

we would have prey

you would have prey

they would have prey

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been preying

you would have been preying

he/she/it would have been preying

we would have been preying

you would have been preying

they would have been preying

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you prey
we let´s prey
you prey

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to prey

Past participle

preyed

Present Participle

preying

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «PREY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «prey» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of prey

dupe · fall guy · game · kill · mark · mug · quarry · target · victim

TRANSLATION OF PREY

Find out the translation of prey to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of prey from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «prey» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 猎物
• Translator English - Spanish: presa
• English: prey
• Translator English - Hindi: शिकार
• Translator English - Arabic: فَرِيسَة
• Translator English - Russian: добыча
• Translator English - Portuguese: presa
• Translator English - Bengali: শিকার
• Translator English - French: proie
• Translator English - Malay: mangsa
• Translator English - German: Beute
• Translator English - Japanese: 餌食
• Translator English - Korean: 먹이
• Translator English - Javanese: Mangsa
• Translator English - Vietnamese: mồi
• Translator English - Tamil: இரையை
• Translator English - Marathi: शिकार
• Translator English - Turkish: Av
• Translator English - Italian: preda
• Translator English - Polish: zdobycz
• Translator English - Ukrainian: здобич
• Translator English - Romanian: pradă
• Translator English - Greek: λεία
• Translator English - Afrikaans: prooi
• Translator English - Swedish: byte
• Translator English - Norwegian: bytte

10 QUOTES WITH «PREY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word prey.

1

Hayley Atwell

The things that prey on my mind in London seem to disappear as soon as I find myself in a different environment. Survival mode kicks in.

2

John Bachman

I never found either this or the Northern Shrike return to such prey for food. I have seen them alight on the same thorn bush afterwards, but never made any use of this kind of food.

3

Robert T. Bakker

When looking at the evidence of feeding on large prey, you can see every size tooth from hatchling to adult in one spot. The babies may have been fed in the nest until they were full grown, like in eagles and hawks.

4

Brigitte Bardot

Animals have never betrayed me. They are an easy prey, as I have been throughout my career. So we feel the same. I love them.

5

James Van Der Beek

I think anybody with an insecurity, which is everyone, appreciates the fact that it's much easier to be a predator than it is to be prey.

6

Greg Boyle

Kids are different from adults. They are not as developed as far as brain science, controlling impulses, and maturity, and fall prey to all kinds of pressures.

7

Lord Byron

Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey.

8

Taylor Caldwell

In sleep, you are safe from the revolting mechanics of living and being a prey to outrageous fortune.

9

John le Carre

It's part of a writer's profession, as it's part of a spy's profession, to prey on the community to which he's attached, to take away information - often in secret - and to translate that into intelligence for his masters, whether it's his readership or his spy masters. And I think that both professions are perhaps rather lonely.

10

Henri Cartier-Bresson

The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PREY»

Discover the use of prey in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to prey and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Prey: A Novel

Deep in the remote Nevada desert, eight people are trapped inside of the Xymos Corporation by a rapidly evolving swarm of predatory molecules that have massed together to form a powerful and intelligent organism that is targeting its ...

Michael Crichton, 2013

Shadow Prey

The #1 New York Times bestselling series. Lucas Davenport goes on a city-to-city search for a bizarre ritualistic killer. "Ice-pick chills...a double-pumped roundhouse of a thriller." —Kirkus Reviews

John Sandford, 1991

Rules of Prey

The haunting, unforgettable, ice-blooded thriller that introduced Lucas Davenport is so chilling that you're almost afraid to turn the pages and so mesmerizing you cannot stop.

John Sandford, 1990

Prey: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt of Linda Howard and Linda Jones's Running Wild.

Linda Howard, 2011

Buried Prey

For twenty-five years the unsolved kidnapping of two young girls has haunted Minneapolis homicide detective Lucas Davenport. Today, the bodies have been found. Today, he returns to a crime—and a nightmare—darker than any before.

John Sandford, 2011

Mind Prey

"Grip-you-by-the-throat thrills." —Houston Chronicle Davenport matches wits and wills with an obsessed kidnapper whose victims are edging ever closer to a fate worse than any nightmare...

John Sandford, 1996

Stolen Prey

The brilliant Lucas Davenport thriller from the number one New York Times bestselling author. Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst.

John Sandford, 2012

Phantom Prey

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA

John Sandford, 2008

Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren ...

Prophet's Prey offers the gripping, behind-the-scenes account of a bizarre world from the only man who knows the full story.

Sam Brower, 2011

Prey

And as in London eight years previously, werewolves will be unleashed - this time on the streets of New York.Bloodlust and vengeance unite Ruth and Burns as they conspire to annihilate Lev and Laura - and the ultimate hunter becomes the ...

Thomas Emson, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PREY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term prey is used in the context of the following news items.

The snake that decapitates its prey

They have super-flexible jaws that allow them to capture prey animals of all sizes. And once they do, they usually swallow their prey whole ... «Mongabay.com, Jul 15»

Scientists study predator-prey behavior between sharks and turtles

The research team used long-term satellite tagging data from large tiger sharks and adult female loggerhead sea turtles, common prey of tiger ... «Phys.Org, Jul 15»

Lupus researchers try to corner puzzling prey

The problem facing lupus researchers is that their enemy poses an array of symptoms with no one certain cause. Yet with a correct diagnosis, ... «Duluth News Tribune, Jul 15»

Chart of the day: Asian equities remain prey to pessimism

Asian stock markets remain prey to deep pessimism despite a recent bounce for the MSCI Asia ex-Japan benchmark index that has seen it ... «South China Morning Post, Jul 15»

Myth busted! Boa constrictors don't suffocate prey to death

Boa constrictors kill prey by quickly stopping their blood flow, according to a new study which busts the longstanding myth that the large, ... «Daily News & Analysis, Jul 15»

Gail Simone, Revisiting The Birds Of Prey For A Little...

Birds Of Prey, the female Bat-team of Gotham that Gail wrte for years… although will it have a Batgirl/Oracle? Because Gail had previously ... «Bleeding Cool News, Jul 15»

Prey's annual show celebrates color

“Quadricentennial Nocturne,” a new watercolor and drybrush on paper by Barbara Ernst Prey, cuts across the color wheel. It is part of her ... «Courier-Gazette & Camden Herald, Jul 15»

Drugs cartels prey on 'hopeless romantics'

An increasing number of so-called internet romantics are falling prey to global drug cartels and finding themselves facing the death penalty ... «3News NZ, Jul 15»

Entomologists release wasps in Shongaloo and Minden to prey on …

They immediately start looking for trees because that is where their prey is,” Diaz said, who gets the wasps from a rearing colony in Michigan. «Red River Radio, Jul 15»

Birds of prey break up burglary in Andover

The incident, which reportedly took place early this morning (Monday 27 July), occurred after burglars broke in to a purpose built bird of prey ... «Andover Advertiser, Jul 15»