I am looking for a word that can be used for the catch resulting from a hunt.

For example, a fox catches a rabbit and in that case, the rabbit is the prey. However if one talks about prey in general, then how to distinguish the rabbit which was caught?

It would be really helpful if there is a specific word to go with this circumstance.

As some of the comments pointed out, I need to include some more context. I was searching for a word which can be used to talk about the yield of a hunt resulting in their consumption, be it a singular or multiple prey which are caught. For my needs, both kill and catch work in my opinion.

  • Are you looking for a word that describes a single prey animal caught by a predator, presumably another animal, but possibly a human? Then some of the suggestions below, like "catch" or "bag" don't really work. They really imply (at least to me) multiple animals caught/killed by a human. – jamesqf Nov 5 '18 at 4:29
  • trove is another choice – Strawberry Nov 5 '18 at 17:26
  • Trophy is used more often when the animals are not consumed but not exclusively. – KalleMP Nov 6 '18 at 12:00

Right in your first sentence...

catch noun: an act of catching something, typically a ball [or animal]. an amount of fish caught.

"a record catch of 6.9 billion pounds of fish"

"he inspected the catch"

and another for good measure...

quarry noun: an animal pursued by a hunter, hound, predatory mammal, or bird of prey.

"he would not allow his quarry to elude him"

google definition

  • 10
    'quarry' (and 'prey') includes everything a hunter or predator tries to catch whether or not they succeed. A human hunter's 'bag' is also used metonymically for the carcasses etc it contains, but I wouldn't use it for nonhumans. – dave_thompson_085 Nov 5 '18 at 2:08
  • 1
    'Haul' can also be used, to desrcibe animals or anything else one brings back from a successful trip. – Freddie R Nov 5 '18 at 17:25
  • 3
    @dave_thompson_085 The fact that quarry includes all prey even one that is not caught/killed is very important in the face of the OP's question and in my opinion should either be removed from the answer or specifically mentioned. The OP obviously got the result he wanted but for others this answer could be confusing -1 from me until clarified. – DRF Nov 5 '18 at 19:10
  • The only way I would use 'quarry' would be to mean that which the hunter pursues. Once caught, it ceases to be the quarry. – Dominic Cronin Nov 7 '18 at 12:12

I would recommend "Spoils" or perhaps "Prize". They imply a challenge, competition or battle from which the caught rabbit is the "reward" - the hunt could be thought of as such in a metaphorical sense.

Spoils Merriam-Webster

1c : something valuable or desirable gained through special effort or opportunism or in return for a favor —usually used in plural**

3: an object of plundering : PREY

For example, you may refer to the caught rabbit as the "spoils of the hunt"

Prize Merriam-Webster

1 : something taken by force, stratagem, or threat especially : property lawfully captured at sea in time of war

2 : an act of capturing or taking especially : the wartime capture of a ship and its cargo at sea


noun [usually in singular]
an act of killing, especially of one animal by another: a lion has made a kill.

• an animal or animals killed, either by a hunter or by another animal: the vulture is able to survey the land and locate a fresh kill.

New Oxford American Dictionary


Your question:

A word that means “the yield of a hunt?”

bounty: Cambridge Dictionary

f. [ C/U ] a large amount of something [ C ]

As in:

The hunt resulted in a bounty of game.


I was amazed by the bounty of our hunt.

synonyms of bounty: abundance, plenty, exuberance, profusion, affluence, plenitude, copiousness, plenteousness




a quantity of game taken


Related to bag (verb), the act of shooting or catching game.

This might be more British English.

  • 1
    Here is an example, a terrible one but the rest wouldn't let me copy and paste "Sloan’s mouth twisted as Eragon entered. “Well, the mighty hunter joins the rest of us mortals. How many did you bag this time?”" alagaesia.com/eragonexcerpt2.htm – WendyG Nov 6 '18 at 13:46

Another one that people would say is, "to harvest an animal."

I could ask a hunter, in the context of hunting animals, "what did you harvest this year?"

He may reply, "two deer and a turkey".

Of course, harvest typically refers to anything you gather for sustenance or livelihood. ie. You can say "harvest" for firewood, crops, or animals.

Regarding animals; the adjective form, "harvesting" refers to the entire process of hunting/killing as well as butchering.

"The harvest" refers to the season/time of year during which most crops are harvested.

Edit: Someone down-voted my answer, and I was just on Facebook and came across this, (No, I did not go cherry pick this to prove my answer is right, I just happened to find this right now as I edit this...). So yes, "harvest" is definitely used to indicate the yield of a hunt.

Harvest used in a paragraph twice

  • "Harvest" is used for farm grown animals though (example). – Laurel Nov 5 '18 at 6:29
  • 2
    Harvest is used of hunting too, so while it doesn't entail hunting the way quarry does, it is certainly an option. – Jon Hanna Nov 5 '18 at 17:02

protected by tchrist Nov 6 '18 at 2:55


Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?
