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To subject to plunder and pillage; to despoil; to lay waste; to prey upon. It makes the substance of the body . . . less apt to be consumed and depredated by the spirits. Bacon.

with greediness; to consume ravenously; to feast upon like a wild beast or a glutton; to prey upon. Some evil beast hath devoured him. Gen. xxxvii. 20.

Represented with wings expanded; -- applied to doves and other birds not of prey. Cussans.

nk of such a battle without dismay. Macaulay. Thou with a tiger spring dost leap upon thy prey, And tear his helpless breast, o'erwhelmed with wild dismay. Mrs. Barbauld.

ld pressed on shield, and man drove man along. Pope. Go drive the deer and drag the finny prey. Pope.

The nest of a bird of prey or other large bird that builds in a lofty place; aerie. The eagle and the stork On cliffs and cedar tops their eyries build. Milton.

The tusk of an animal, by which the prey is seized and held or torn; a long pointed tooth; esp., one of the usually erectile, venomous teeth of serpents. Also, one of the falcers of a spider. Since I am a dog, beware my fangs. Shak.

It has been almost universally believed that . . . serpents can stupefy and fascinate the prey which they are desirous to obtain. Griffith (Cuvier).

To subject by eating; to satisfy the appetite; to feed one's self (upon something); to prey; -- with on or upon. Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon. Shak.

A wild beast; a beast of prey. -- Fe"rine*ly, adv. -- Fe"rine*ness, n.

The osprey (Pandion haliaëtus), found both in Europe and America; -- so called because it plunges into the water and seizes fishes in its talons. Called also fishing eagle, and bald buzzard.

The talons of a bird of prey. [Obs.] More light than culver in the falcon's fist. Spenser.

a small sum, or a few days' work. -- To fling off, to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of. Addison. -- To fling open, to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door. -- To fling out, to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words agai…

or spoils; a raid. Spenser. The huge Earl Doorm, . . . Bound on a foray, rolling eyes of prey. Tennyson.

ood consists of fish which they obtain by robbing gulls, terns, and other birds, of their prey. They are related to the pelicans. -- Frigate mackerel (Zoöl.), an oceanic fish (Auxis Rochei) of little or no value as food, often very abundant off the coast of the United States. -- Frigate pelican. (Zoöl.) Same as Friga…

The act or manner of moving smoothly, swiftly, and without labor or obstruction. They prey at last ensnared, he dreadful darts, With rapid glide, along the leaning line. Thomson. Seeing Orlando, it unlink'd itself, And with indented glides did slip away. Shak.

nk; ravenous; voracious; very hungry; -- followed by of; as, a lion that is greedy of his prey.

ng to flock or herd together; not habitually solitary or living alone. Burke. No birds of prey are gregarious. Ray. -- Gre*ga"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- Gre-ga'ri-ous-ness, n.

To growl; to snarl in deep tones; as, a lion grumbling over his prey.

An eel-like marine marsipobranch (Myxine glutinosa), allied to the lamprey. It has a suctorial mouth, with labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings. It is the type of the order Hyperotpeta. Called also hagfish, borer, slime eel, sucker, and sleepmarken.