Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense chases, present participle chasing, past tense, past participle chased
1. verb
If you chase someone, or chaseafter them, you run after them or follow them quickly in order to catch or reach them.
She chased the thief for 100 yards. [VERB noun]
He said nothing to waiting journalists, who chased after him as he left. [V + after]
Synonyms: pursue, follow, track, hunt More Synonyms of chase
Chase is also a noun.
He was reluctant to give up the chase.
Police said he was arrested without a struggle after a car chase through the streetsof Biarritz. [+ through]
2. verb
If you are chasing something you want, such as work or money, you are trying hard to get it.
In Wales, 14 people are chasing every job. [VERB noun]
There are too many schools chasing too few pupils. [VERB noun]
...publishers and booksellers chasing after profits from high-volume sales. [V + after]
Chase is also a noun.
They took an invincible lead in the chase for the championship. [+ for]
3. verb
If someone chases someone that they are attracted to, or chasesafter them, they try hard to persuade them to have a sexual relationship with them.
I didn't go around flirting or chasing women. [VERB noun]
'I was always chasing after unsuitable men,' she says. [V + after]
Chase is also a noun.
The chase is always much more exciting than the conquest anyway.
4. verb
If someone chases you from a place, they force you to leave by using threats or violence.
Many farmers will then chase you off their land quite aggressively. [V n + from/out of/off]
Angry demonstrators chased him away. [V n + away/off/out]
Synonyms: drive away, drive, expel, hound More Synonyms of chase
5.
See cut to the chase
6. verb
To chase someone from a job or a position or from power means to force them to leave it.
The army will not allow its commander-in-chief to be chased from power. [V n + from/out of]
7. verb
If you chase somewhere, you run or rush there.
They chased down the stairs into the narrow, dirty street. [VERB preposition/adverb]
...chasing about late at night in search of life's necessities. [VERB preposition/adverb]
Synonyms: rush, run, race, shoot More Synonyms of chase
8. singular noun [theNOUN]
The chase is the activity of hunting animals.
[old-fashioned]
...bear robes, mountain lion hides, and other trophies of the chase.
9. noun, in names
Chase is often used in the name of horse races in which the horses have to jump over obstacles such as fences or bushes.
[British]
...the Champion Hunter Chase.
10. See also wild goose chase
11.
See give chase
12.
See the thrill of the chase
Phrasal verbs:
See chase away
See chase down
See chase up
More Synonyms of chase
chase in British English1
(tʃeɪs)
verb
1.
to follow or run after (a person, animal, or goal) persistently or quickly
2. (tr; often foll by out, away, or off)
to force to run (away); drive (out)
3. (transitive) informal
to court (a potential romantic or sexual partner) in an unsubtle manner
4. (transitive; often foll byup) informal
to pursue persistently and energetically in order to obtain results, information, etc
chase up the builders and get a delivery date
5. (intransitive) informal
to hurry; rush
noun
6.
the act of chasing; pursuit
7.
any quarry that is pursued
8. British
an unenclosed area of land where wild animals are preserved to be hunted
9. British
the right to hunt a particular quarry over the land of others
10. the chase
11. short for steeplechase
12. real tennis
a ball that bounces twice, requiring the point to be played again
13. cut to the chase
14. give chase
Derived forms
chaseable (ˈchaseable)
adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French chacier, from Vulgar Latin captiāre (unattested), from Latin captāre to pursue eagerly, from capere to take; see catch
chase in British English2
(tʃeɪs)
noun
1. printing
a rectangular steel or cast-iron frame into which metal type and blocks making up pages are locked for printing or plate-making
2.
the part of a gun barrel from the front of the trunnions to the muzzle
3.
a groove or channel, esp one that is cut in a wall to take a pipe, cable, etc
verb(transitive)
4. Also: chamfer
to cut a groove, furrow, or flute in (a surface, column, etc)
Word origin
C17 (in the sense: frame for letterpress matter): probably from French châsse frame (in the sense: bore of a cannon, etc): from Old French chas enclosure, from Late Latin capsus pen for animals; both from Latin capsacase2
chase in British English3
(tʃeɪs)
verb(transitive)
1. Also: enchase
to ornament (metal) by engraving or embossing
2.
to form or finish (a screw thread) with a chaser
Word origin
C14: from Old French enchasserenchase
Chase in American English
(tʃeɪs)
1.
ˈSalmon P(ortland) (ˈsælmən) 1808-73; U.S. jurist; chief justice of the U.S. (1864-73)
to follow quickly or persistently in order to catch or harm
2.
to run after; follow; pursue
3.
to seek after
4.
to make run away; drive
5.
to hunt (game)
6. Slang
to court aggressively
verb intransitive
7.
to go in pursuit
to chase after him
8. Informal
to go hurriedly; rush
to chase around town
noun
9.
the act of chasing; pursuit
10.
a.
the hunting of game for sport
often with the
b.
anything hunted; quarry
11. British
a.
an unenclosed game preserve
see also park
b.
a license to hunt over a specified area or to keep animals there as game
Idioms:
give chase
Word origin
ME chacen, cacchen: see catch
chase in American English2
(tʃeɪs)
noun
1.
a groove; furrow
2.
the bore of a gun barrel
3.
a groove or recess in a wall, made to provide space as for a pipe or conduit
4.
a rectangular metal frame in which pages or columns of type are locked
verb transitiveWord forms: chased or ˈchasing
5.
to make a groove in
Word origin
Fr chas, needle's eye < OFr < VL *capsum < L capsa: see case2
chase in American English3
(tʃeɪs)
verb transitiveWord forms: chased or ˈchasing
to ornament (metal) by engraving, embossing, etc.
Word origin
aphetic for enchase
More idioms containing
chase
a wild goose chase
cut to the chase
chase rainbows
chase your own tail
Examples of 'chase' in a sentence
chase
Those being chased were often suspected of motoring offences.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Why do they need to give chase?
The Sun (2013)
Your ambition chart is switched on and you are ready to chase your dream job.
The Sun (2011)
You should chase the hard at some point.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
An admirer who was following her chased them away.
Lucy Moore Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France (2006)
Their day is spent being chased away like scavenging dogs.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There might be fifty people chasing one property at auction.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
England should have won the first two matches but flopped in run chases.
The Sun (2009)
Which is something that should only be considered if you are being chased by a bear.
The Sun (2012)
We gifted their first two goals and were chasing the game when they got the third.
The Sun (2014)
You can inspire people you care about to chase their dreams.
The Sun (2009)
Hunters have to be chased off his land.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We will always keep chasing the dream.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
They chased it more often today than they did all season.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It took ten laps to dispense with both so that he could give chase.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This helps at work or if you are chasing a new job.
The Sun (2008)
The delighted looks on their faces presumably also help him chase away the suspicion that he is boring.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Put her on a track and there is a steely determination that has the rest chasing her shadow.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But he still loved the chase.
Diane Purkiss The English Civil War: A People's History (2006)
Testing ground would be a worry, but it rarely gets bad on the chase course.
The Sun (2008)
Spurs failed with two January raids and will again lead the chase this summer.
The Sun (2009)
Hunter chases are often the traffic filters of jump racing, positioned at the end of a card to allow the uninterested majority an early departure.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
chase
British English: chase /tʃeɪs/ NOUN
A chase is the act of chasing someone.
He was reluctant to give up the chase.
American English: chase
Arabic: مُطَارَدَة
Brazilian Portuguese: perseguição
Chinese: 追赶
Croatian: potjera
Czech: honička
Danish: jagt
Dutch: achtervolging
European Spanish: persecución
Finnish: takaa-ajo
French: poursuite
German: Jagd
Greek: κυνήγι
Italian: inseguimento
Japanese: 追跡
Korean: 추적
Norwegian: jakt
Polish: polowanie
European Portuguese: perseguição
Romanian: urmărire
Russian: преследование
Latin American Spanish: persecución
Swedish: jakt
Thai: การไล่ตาม
Turkish: takip
Ukrainian: гонитва
Vietnamese: sự theo đuổi
British English: chase /tʃeɪs/ VERB
If you chase someone, you run after them or follow them in order to catch them or force them to leave a place.
She chased the boys for 100 yards.
American English: chase
Arabic: يُطارِدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: perseguir
Chinese: 追赶
Croatian: loviti
Czech: pronásledovat
Danish: jage
Dutch: achtervolgen
European Spanish: perseguir cazar
Finnish: jahdata
French: pourchasser
German: jagen
Greek: κυνηγώ
Italian: inseguire
Japanese: 追跡する
Korean: 추적하다
Norwegian: jage
Polish: ścigać
European Portuguese: perseguir
Romanian: a alergadupă cineva
Russian: преследовать
Latin American Spanish: perseguir
Swedish: jaga
Thai: ไล่ตาม
Turkish: kovalamak
Ukrainian: гнатися
Vietnamese: đuổi
All related terms of 'chase'
car chase
when one car is in quick pursuit of another
chase up
If you chase up something that is needed or needs dealing with, you find it or find out what is being done about it.
the chase
the act or sport of hunting
chase away
If someone or something chases away worries , fears , or other bad feelings, they cause those feelings to change and become happier .
chase down
If you chase someone down , you run after them or follow them quickly and catch them.
give chase
If you give chase , you run after someone or follow them quickly in order to catch them.
goose chase
→ wild-goose chase
paper chase
a former type of cross-country run in which a runner laid a trail of paper for others to follow
chase targets
A target is a result that you are trying to achieve .
chase rainbows
to waste your time trying to get something that you can never have
chase a dream
You can refer to a situation or event as a dream if you often think about it because you would like it to happen .
chase the ball
A ball is a round object that is used in games such as tennis , baseball , football , basketball , and cricket.
chase the dragon
to smoke opium or heroin
cut to the chase
If someone cuts to the chase , they start talking about or dealing with what is important, instead of less important things.
wild-goose chase
If you are on a wild goose chase , you waste a lot of time searching for something that you have little chance of finding , because you have been given incorrect information.
a wild goose chase
a search for something that you have little chance of finding because you have been given wrong information
chase your own tail
to spend a lot of time and energy doing something, but achieving nothing
the thrill of the chase
If you talk about the thrill of the chase , you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something.
lead someone a merry chase
to cause someone trouble by luring into a vain pursuit
Chinese translation of 'chase'
chase
(tʃeɪs)
vt
(= pursue) 追赶(趕) (zhuīgǎn)
to chase sb off one's land/away from a place将(將)某人赶(趕)出某人的土地/从(從)某处(處)赶(趕)走 (jiāng mǒurén gǎnchū mǒurén de tǔdì/cóng mǒuchù gǎnzǒu)
(= seek)[job, money, opportunity]寻(尋)找 (xúnzhǎo)
n(c)
(= pursuit) 追逐 (zhuīzhú) (阵(陣), zhèn)
1 (verb)
Definition
to pursue (a person or animal) persistently or quickly
She chased the thief for 100 yards.
Synonyms
pursue
She pursued the man who had stolen her bag.
follow
I think we're being followed.
track
He thought he had better track this creature and kill it.
hunt
Police are hunting a large wildcat that has escaped from the zoo.
run after
course
a ban on dogs coursing hares
2 (verb)
Definition
to court (someone) in an unsubtle manner
We were shy and preferred basketball to chasing boys.
Synonyms
woo
The penniless author successfully wooed and married Roxanne.
pursue
He had pursued her, and they started dating.
flirt with
run after
pay court to
set your cap at
sext
3 (verb)
Definition
to force (a person or animal) to leave a place
Some farmers chase you off their land quite aggressively.
Synonyms
drive away
drive
expel
secondary school students expelled for cheating in exams
hound
hounded out of office
send away
send packing
put to flight
We were put to flight by a herd of bullocks.
4 (verb)
Definition
to rush or run
(informal)
They chased down the stairs into the alley.
Synonyms
rush
Someone inside the building rushed out.
run
I excused myself and ran back to the telephone.
race
They raced away out of sight.
shoot
They had almost reached the boat when a figure shot past them.
fly
I flew downstairs.
speed
The engine noise rises only slightly as I speed along.
dash
Suddenly she dashed out into the garden.
sprint
He sprinted to the car.
bolt
I made some excuse and bolted towards the exit.
dart
She darted away through the trees.
hotfoot
(noun)
Definition
the act or an instance of chasing a person or animal
He was arrested after a car chase.
Synonyms
pursuit
Police had obstructed justice by hindering the pursuit of terrorists.
race
a running race across the Sahara desert
hunt
The couple had helped in the hunt for the lost hiker.
hunting
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bolt
I made some excuse and bolted towards the exit.
Synonyms
dash,
run,
fly,
spring,
jump,
rush,
bound,
leap,
sprint,
hurtle
in the sense of course
Definition
to hunt with hounds that follow the quarry by sight and not scent