preying
SayPRAY-ing/ˈpɹeɪɪŋ/
- 1Present participle of prey.
The hawk spent the morning preying on rabbits along the ridge.
The con artist made a comfortable living by preying on lonely retirees.
Note
An -ing form that does double duty. In "the hawk was preying on rabbits" it builds the progressive after a form of be. In "preying on the weak was his trade" it works as a noun naming the act itself. The verb is intransitive, so it never takes a direct object. The victim always arrives through on or upon, whether it is a rabbit or a retiree.
preying is a form of prey
prey, verb: To behave as a predator, hunting and feeding on other animals. Full entry
- Spelling
- prey → preying: add -ing
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