Prey \Prey\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Preyed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Preying}.] [OF. preier, preer, L. praedari, fr. praeda. See
   {Prey}, n.]
   To take booty; to gather spoil; to ravage; to take food by
   violence.
   
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         More pity that the eagle should be mewed,
         While kites and buzzards prey at liberty. --Shak.
   
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   {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.
       
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Prey \Prey\, n. [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.
   
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         And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the
         spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest. --Num. xxxi.
                                                  12.
   
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   2. That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be
      devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim.
      
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            The old lion perisheth for lack of prey. --Job iv.
                                                  ii.
      
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            Already sees herself the monster's prey. --Dryden.
      
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   3. The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.
      
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            Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, . . . lion in prey.
                                                  --Shak.
      
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   {Beast of prey}, a carnivorous animal; one that feeds on the
      flesh of other animals.
      
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prey
     n 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}]
     v 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}]

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