Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

prey

/pɹeɪ/ noun

Latin root: praeda Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about prey at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

That which is or may be seized by animals to be devoured.
The deer became prey to the lion.
A person or thing given up as a victim.
A living thing, usually an animal, that is eaten by another living thing.
The rabbit was eaten by the coyote, so the rabbit is the coyote's prey.

verb

To act as a predator.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word