different between prey vs spiderweb

English

Etymology

From Middle English preye, prei, prey?e, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French preie, one of the variants of proie, from Latin praeda. Compare predator.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pr?, IPA^(key): /p?e?/
• Rhymes: -e?
• Homophone: pray

Noun

prey (countable and uncountable, plural preys)

1. (archaic) Anything, such as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; something taken by force from an enemy in war

   Synonyms: spoil, booty, plunder
2. That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured

   • Already sees herself the monster's prey.

3. A person or thing given up as a victim.
4. A living thing that is eaten by another living thing.

5. (archaic) The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.
6. The victim of a disease.

Translations

Verb

prey (third-person singular simple present preys, present participle preying, simple past and past participle preyed)

1. (intransitive) To act as a predator.
   • 2001, Karen Harden McCracken, The Life History of a Texas Birdwatcher (page 278)

     The ridge had been a haven for birds and small earth creatures, creeping, crawling, and hopping in a little world of balanced ecology where wild things preyed and were preyed upon […]

Related terms

• prey on

References

• prey in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• pyre, rype

English

Alternative forms

• spider's web, spider web, spider-web

Etymology

From Middle English spiþere webb, equivalent to spider +? web.

Noun

spiderweb (plural spiderwebs)

1. The net-like construct of a spider containing sticky strands to catch prey.
2. Something that resembles a spider's web in being mesh-like, entrapping, or fragile.

Hypernyms

• web

Related terms

• cobweb
• web

Translations

Verb

spiderweb (third-person singular simple present spiderwebs, present participle spiderwebbing, simple past and past participle spiderwebbed)

1. (transitive) To connect or cover as if with spiderwebs.

Anagrams

• Web spider