fall prey

English

Verb

fall prey (third-person singular simple present falls prey, present participle falling prey, simple past fell prey, past participle fallen prey)

1. To be affected, or overcome by, a bad situation; used with to.

   Synonym: fall victim

   Many children at our school have fallen prey to the 'flu bug.

   Inexperienced teachers sometimes fall prey to fears that they do not know enough.

   • 1974 February 2, Edward Sebesta, “Launching the Gay '80s: Gay Rights Under Siege In Santa Clara County”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 5:

     Even now gay rights ordinances are in danger of being repealed by local and statewide initiatives. Indeed, San Francisco, the self proclaimed gay capital, is in the danger of falling prey to the anti-gays.

Usage notes

• fall prey is almost always followed by the preposition to.

Translations

to be affected by a bad situation

• Hungarian: áldozatul esik (hu)
• Italian: cadere vittima
• Polish: paść ofiarą (pl) pf, padać ofiarą impf
• Spanish: ser presa (de), caer presa (de)