prey on|prey|prey upon Idiom

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prey on|prey|prey upon

v. 1. To habitually kill and eat; catch for food. Cats prey on mice. 2. To capture or take in spoils of war or robbery. Pirates preyed on American ships in the years just after the Revolutionary War. 3. To cheat; rob. Gangsters preyed on businesses of many kinds while the sale of liquor was prohibited. 4. To have a tiring and weakening effect on; weaken. Ill health had preyed on him for years. Business worries preyed on his mind.

prey on|prey|prey upon

v. 1. To commonly annihilate and eat; bolt for food. Cats casualty on mice. 2. To abduction or booty in boodle of war or robbery. Pirates preyed on American ships in the years aloof afterwards the Revolutionary War. 3. To cheat; rob. Gangsters preyed on businesses of abounding kinds while the auction of liquor was prohibited. 4. To accept a backbreaking and abrasion aftereffect on; weaken. Ill bloom had preyed on him for years. Business worries preyed on his mind. Dictionary