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| prey [ pray ] (plural preys) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. animal hunted by other animals: an animal or animals caught, killed, and eaten by another animal as food
 The common shrew's prey consists largely of earthworms and wood lice.
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2. somebody treated unkindly by others: somebody who is attacked by or receives cruel or unfair treatment from somebody else
 His gullibility makes him easy prey.
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3. killing of other animals as food: the natural practice or habit of predatory animals of hunting, killing, and eating other animals
 a bird of prey
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| [13th century. Via Old French preie< Latin praeda "booty"] |
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be (a) prey to something to experience something unpleasant regularly or be at risk of something unpleasant
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