Prey Meaning
/pɹeɪ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThat which is or may be seized by animals to be devoured.
nounA person or thing given up as a victim.
Sentence Examples
The eagle dived at its prey.
The lion put an end to his prey with one stroke.
The lion will often stalk its prey for hours.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lioness quickly chased her ____ through the tall grass, wanting to eat it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hawk circled high above the field, watching for any sign of ____ in the grass below.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English preye, prei, preyȝe, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French preie, one of the variants of proie, from Latin praeda. Compare predator. Doublet of prede.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Already sees herself the monster's prey."
— 1700, [John] Dryden, “Theodore and Honoria, from Boccace”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"[The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]"
— 1899 March, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number MI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part II:
"Being so inflexible, the railway was easy prey to road competition, and the arrival of unregulated lorry transport from farm fields to town centres quickly captured all locally generated business."
— 2020 November 18, Howard Johnston, “The missing 'Lincs' and the sole survivor”, in Rail, page 58:
"The old lion perisheth for lack of prey."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 4:2:
"Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them."
— 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, pages 206–7:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The lioness quickly chased her ____ through the tall grass, wanting to eat it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hawk circled high above the field, watching for any sign of ____ in the grass below.