prey
US: /ˈpɹeɪ/
UK: /pɹˈeɪ/
UK: /pɹˈeɪ/
English Vietnamese dictionary
prey /prei/
- danh từ
- mồi
- to become (fall) a prey to...: làm mồi cho...
- a beast of prey: thú săn mồi
- a bird of prey: chim săn mồi
- (nghĩa bóng) mồi, nạn nhân (của ai, của bệnh hoạn, của sự sợ hãi...)
- to become a prey to fear: bị nỗi lo sợ luôn luôn giày vò
- mồi
- nội động từ
- (+ upon) rình mồi, tìm mồi, bắt mồi (mãnh thú)
- cướp bóc (ai)
- làm hao mòn (bệnh tật); giày vò, day dứt, ám ảnh (nỗi đau buồn...)
- his failure preyed upon his mind: sự thất bại day dứt tâm trí anh ta
Advanced English dictionary
noun, verb
+ noun
[U, sing.]
1 an animal, a bird, etc. that is hunted, killed and eaten by another: The lion will often stalk its prey for hours. + birds of prey (= birds that kill for food)
2 a person who is harmed or deceived by sb, especially for dishonest purposes: Elderly people are easy prey for dishonest salesmen.
Idioms: be / fall prey to sth (formal)
1 (of an animal) to be killed and eaten by another animal or bird: Many small birds and rodents fall prey to the domestic cat.
2 (of a person) to be harmed or affected by sth bad: Since the attack, she had fallen prey to irrational fears.
verb
Idioms: prey on sb's mind (of a thought, problem, etc.) to make sb think and worry about it all the time: The thought that he could have helped more preyed on his mind.
Phrasal Verbs: prey on / upon sb/sth
1 (of an animal or a bird) to hunt and kill another animal for food: Hawks prey on rodents and small birds.
2 to harm sb who is weaker than you, or make use of them in a dishonest way to get what you want: Bogus social workers have been preying on old people living alone.
Thesaurus dictionary
n.
1 quarry, kill, game, objective, target:
The lioness singled out her prey from the herd of zebra.
2 victim, target, objective; dupe, Colloq mark, Slang fall guy, pushover, Brit mug:
A public company with huge cash reserves, United Vector seemed easy prey for a take-over bid.
v.
3 prey on or upon.
(a) live off, feed on or upon, eat, consume, devour, kill, destroy, stalk, pursue, hunt, seize:
These snakes prey mostly upon other snakes.
(b) victimize, go after, exploit, use, take advantage of, intimidate, bully, cheat, dupe, swindle, gull, trick, snooker, defraud, outwit, outsmart, outfox, hoodwink, Literary cozen, Colloq rook, bamboozle, flimflam:
An unscrupulous gang is preying on the elderly, persuading them to invest in non-existent properties.
(c) oppress, weigh on or upon, burden, depress, distress, strain, vex, worry:
His wretched condition preyed very much on her mind.
Collocation dictionary
ADJ.
easy
Teenagers are easy prey for unscrupulous drug dealers.
| ideal
VERB + PREY
chase, hunt for, look for, pursue, stalk | capture, pounce on
a cat pouncing on its prey
| kill
PREP.
~ for
The young deer are ideal prey for the leopard.
| ~ to
(figurative) She was prey to all kinds of conflicting emotions.
PHRASES
a beast/bird of prey, be/fall prey to sth
(figurative) The new government has fallen prey to corruption and fraud.
Concise English dictionary
preys|preyed|preyingpreɪ
noun
+a person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence
+animal hunted or caught for food
verb
+profit from in an exploitatory manner
+prey on or hunt for
