fall prey

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.

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