Pray and prey sound alike, but they mean very different things.
Pray is usually a verb. It means to speak to God, ask sincerely, or hope deeply for something. You use it when someone is making a request in a spiritual or serious sense.
Example: We pray for peace.
Prey is usually a noun. It means a person or animal that is hunted, attacked, or targeted. It often appears in nature writing, but it can also describe victims in a broader sense.
Example: The lion stalked its prey.
- Use pray for asking, worship, or hopeful appeal.
- Use prey for something being hunted or targeted.
- A quick memory tip: pray relates to prayer, while prey relates to predators.
If you are talking about faith, hope, or asking, choose pray. If you are talking about hunting or victims, choose prey.