1. An animal hunted or caught for food; quarry.
2. One that is defenseless, especially in the face of attack; a victim.
3. The act or practice of preying.

1. To hunt, catch, or eat as prey: Owls prey on mice.
2. To victimize or make a profit at someone else's expense.
3. To plunder or pillage.
4. To exert a baneful or injurious effect: Remorse preyed on his mind.

[Middle English preie, from Old French, from Latin praeda, booty, prey.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.