“prays” vs. “preys”
Use "prays" for the act of worship or earnest appeal, and use "preys" for hunting, exploiting, or feeding on something weaker — the two verbs share a grammatical shape but describe opposite kinds of dependency, one humble and one predatory.
prays
"Prays" is the third-person singular present-tense form of "pray," meaning to address a deity in worship or to make an earnest, humble request ("she prays for strength," "he prays before every game"). It descends from Old French "preier," ultimately from Latin "precari" (to beg or entreat), built on the noun "prex"/"precis" (a prayer), a root also hiding inside the English word "precarious," since something precarious was originally something held only by the grace of another's favor or prayer.
preys
"Preys" is the third-person singular present-tense form of the verb "prey," meaning to hunt and kill another animal for food, or, figuratively, to exploit or take advantage of someone vulnerable ("the owl preys on mice," "scammers prey on the elderly"); "prey" can also stand alone as a noun for the hunted animal itself. It comes from Old French "preie" (booty, plunder, an animal killed for food), from Latin "praeda" (spoils of war, plunder), the same root that gives English "predator" and "depredation."
The real distinction
These two verbs come from entirely unrelated Latin roots — "prays" from "precari" (to entreat) and "preys" from "praeda" (plunder) — and describe opposite emotional registers: one is an act of humility and appeal toward a higher power, the other is an act of aggression and predation toward a weaker target. The grammar is identical in shape (both are third-person singular present-tense verbs, both take "on" or "for" as a following preposition in certain uses), which is precisely why the spellings get swapped so often in fast writing — "the hawk prays on rabbits" is a genuinely common typo for "the hawk preys on rabbits," and it reads almost comically wrong once you notice it, since hawks have no capacity for worship. A reliable test: if the subject is asking for help, guidance, or expressing devotion, you need "prays"; if the subject is hunting, exploiting, or feeding on something weaker, you need "preys." The phrase "preys on" specifically, meaning to exploit someone's vulnerability (a con artist preys on loneliness, a virus preys on weakened immune systems), extends the hunting metaphor into human and abstract contexts far beyond literal animal predation, and writers should be especially careful here, since the metaphorical use doesn't obviously signal "hunting" the way a nature documentary would.
Examples with “prays”
- She prays every night before falling asleep.
- He prays quietly at the hospital chapel.
- The old man prays for his grandchildren's health.
- She prays that the storm passes quickly.
- He prays before every important decision.
- The widow prays at her husband's grave each Sunday.
- She prays silently during the long flight.
- He prays for patience with his stubborn coworkers.
Examples with “preys”
- The owl preys on small rodents at night.
- Con artists often prey on the elderly and isolated.
- The shark preys on seals near the rocky coastline.
- The virus preys on people with weakened immune systems.
- The fox preys on unguarded henhouses after dark.
- Predatory lenders prey on desperate borrowers.
- The spider preys on insects caught in its web.
- Scammers prey on people's fear of missing out.
Memory trick
Remember "prays" through its link to "precarious" — both trace to Latin "precari," to entreat, so a person who prays is, in a sense, placing their hope in someone else's favor. For "preys," hold onto "predator" and "prey" as a matched pair: both share the Latin root "praeda" (plunder), so anything that "preys" on something else is acting as a predator claiming its spoils. If the subject could kneel and whisper a request, it's "prays"; if the subject could stalk, pounce, or exploit, it's "preys." When editing quickly, it helps to read the verb's object aloud: an object like "strength" or "guidance" belongs with "prays," while an object like "rodents" or "the vulnerable" belongs with "preys."