la presa

See the entry for presa.

presa

prey

presa(

preh

sah

)

A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g. la mujer bonita, la luna llena).

feminine noun

1. (hunted animal)

a. prey (of a predator)

La presa de los lobos normalmente consiste de animales como el venado, el alce y el caribú.Wolves' prey normally consist of animals like deer, moose, and caribou.

b. catch (of a hunter)

Hoy salí a cazar, pero no pude hacerme con una buena presa.I went hunting today, but couldn't land a good catch.

2. (structure that controls water flow)

a. dam

La presa se rompió e inundó toda la ciudad.The dam broke and flooded the whole city.

b. weir

La presa se construyó para controlar el nivel del río.The weir was built to control the level of the river.

3. (culinary)

Regionalism used in South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela

(South America)

a. piece (of chicken)

Tenía tanta hambre que me comí tres presas de pollo.I was so hungry that I ate three pieces of chicken.

An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g. the big dog).

adjective

4. (incarcerated)

a. imprisoned

Se ha intensificado la campaña para poner en libertad a la madre presa.The campaign for the release of the imprisoned mother has been stepped up.

This refers to an idiomatic word or phrase for which there is no word-for-word translation.

no direct translation

No sabía que su esposa estuvo presa por fraude.I didn't know his wife had been in prison for fraud.

Toda la oficina se quedó mirando cuando llevaron presa a la jefa.The whole office stared when they took the boss away in handcuffs.

5. (seized by; used with "de")

a. gripped by

Presa del miedo, Amalia miró por la ventana para ver si la habían seguido.Gripped by fear, Amalia looked out of the window to see if she had been followed.

presa

A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling or idea (e.g. man, dog, house).

Noun

1. (captura; de cazador)

a. catch

2. (de animal)

a. prey

hacer presa en alguiento seize o grip somebody

ser presa deto be prey to

ser presa del pánicoto be panic-stricken

3. (dique)

a. dam

presa

1 (animal apresado) (por cazador) catch; (por otro animal) prey

ave de presa bird of prey; huyó presa del pánico he fled in panic; hacer presa en algo: la desesperación hizo presa en los soldados the soldiers were seized with despair

el fuego hizo presa en la cortina

ser presa de algo to be a prey to sth; los ancianos son presa fácil de los vendedores sin escrúpulos old people are easy prey for unscrupulous salesmen

2 (en un río) (dique) dam; (represa) weir; barrage

3 (Mil) (botín) spoils

plural

; (p) booty; (Náutica) prize

4 (Agr) ditch; channel

5 (colmillo) tusk; fang; (Ornitología) claw

6 especialmente (Latinoamérica) [de carne] piece (of meat)

Collins Complete Spanish Electronic Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Examples