chase

Examples

• All

• In California, police give chase to vehicles at high speeds more than 5,000 times per year.

  Academic text (1997)

• Two Maori boys continue the chase, enjoying the fun, thinking it a great adventure.

  Fiction book (1993)

• This passes for a car chase in this movie.

  Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979)

• This is not a wild goose chase, is it?

  Jack Be Nimble (2022)

• And after a very convincing chase, you let me get The Lady back.

  Play Dirty (2025)

• I'm sorry, we already had our big motorcycle chase for the evening.

  Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

• In the end, he became so deft that he had turned the chase into a sport.

  Academic text (2002)

• I was involved in a high-speed car chase.

  Analyze That (2002)

• For those involved, the Memorial Day chases were the most challenging and dangerous of the season.

  Academic text (1999)

• During the film, audiences were on the edge of their seats as they watched the thrilling chase through the crowded streets.

Synonyms

P

pursuit

vschase

157 4.0

To follow and try to catch someone or something

is the common everyday term for that same action

H

hunting

vschase

43 2.2

Looking carefully to find something or someone

is about actively going after to catch or overtake rather than careful searching

T

tracking

vschase

25 2.7

Following animal or person tracks to find them

is broader and covers any going after not only using physical traces

S

stalk

vschase

1 7.9

A quiet hunt in which a hunter moves slowly to catch an animal

is the general act of going after rather than a silent, hidden approach

F

following

vschase

4.2

The act of going after someone to catch them

is used for the same act but is the basic general term

P

pursual

vschase

• Archaic

8.4

An effort to get or achieve something you want

is mainly about going after to catch or overtake not achieving goals

T

trailing

vschase

3.7

Following tracks to find a person or animal

is the general act of going after not specifically using footprints or marks

Antonyms

S

stop

310 1.0

An act when something ends or pauses

Idioms

C

to chase its tail

• Informal

1 7.5

To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere

C

to chase rainbows

• Informal

1 8.3

To try to achieve things that are very unlikely or impossible

C

to chase away the gloom

5.5

Make someone feel less sad and more cheerful

C

to chase one's tail

• Informal

7.7

To waste time on busy work and make no progress

C

to chase skirt

• Offensive

9.9

Try to have romantic or sexual relationships with many women, often not seriously

C

to chase the dollar

• US

6.6

To try hard to earn a lot of money

Compounds

W

wild-goose chase

• Informal

22 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

A

ambulance-chase law

• Slang

9.9

Contacting people hurt in accidents to get them as clients for a lawyer, often seen as dishonest

A

ambulance-chase tactic

• Slang

9.5

A practice of rushing to contact people after accidents to get clients, often seen as unfair

A

ambulance-chase lawyer

• Offensive

8.9

A lawyer who goes to accidents or emergencies to find clients for injury cases

P

paper chase

• Archaic

7.7

A game where some players run ahead leaving bits of paper while others follow to catch them before the finish

How Intense

manhunt

65 5.8

hunt

190 2.1

chase

232 1.0

pursuit

167 3.7

following

4.2

Surface Forms

Etymology