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🏃 To run after 🚓 An act of pursuit 💘 To seek romance 🖨️ A metal frame 🪚 To cut a groove
to chase

to chase

855 1.0
To run after someone or something to catch them
  • verb
  • /tʃeɪs/
translation icon : perseguir
  • She decided to chase after the bus when she saw it leaving the station.
  • chase away
  • chase a dog
  • chase a rabbit

I took off running from them where they chased me on foot.

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Examples

  • I am sick of chasing after you!

    Of Things Past (2023)

  • Well, then, chase me forever.

    Thunderbolts* (2025)

  • So we go quiet and we chase him now.

  • Let her call you, let her chase you, stuff like this.

  • You know we gonna have to chase it down.

    Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

  • And then he started chasing that man and he caught him.

  • You are chasing a ghost.

    Emmanuelle (2024)

  • In the summer of 1934, 13-year-old Robert Symmonds found himself chasing an enormous freight train.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The case arose when a robber, who was being chased by one of his victims, hailed a taxi.

    Academic text (2017)

  • On race day, Betty Lou felt as eager as a greyhound chasing a rabbit.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to track
vsto chase
∞ 2.3

To follow where a person or thing goes

is immediate fast moving to catch rather than passive observing or monitoring
to pursue
vsto chase
∞ 3.5

To try to get something you want, like a job or a goal

is about quick physical moving after a target rather than broad long term effort
to go after
vsto chase
839 2.1

Try to get something you want or follow someone to catch them

is focused on fast immediate movement to catch rather than prolonged effort
to hunt
vsto chase
322 1.0

To chase someone or something without stopping to catch them

is usually a quicker act of running rather than an ongoing relentless effort
to tail
vsto chase
52 5.9

To follow someone closely and secretly to watch them

is about open quick running after rather than secret close following
to trail
vsto chase
50 2.5

Follow someone closely to try to catch them

is faster and focused on rapid running rather than slow steady following
to stalk
vsto chase
41 6.0

To move quietly and carefully while looking for animals to catch

is the fast open running to catch rather than quiet careful approach
to dog
vsto chase
23 6.8

To follow someone closely and keep causing them trouble

is about swift running after to catch rather than long annoying persistence
to run down
vsto chase
13 4.1

To follow and catch a person, animal or vehicle

is about moving quickly to catch rather than a long effort
to give chase
vsto chase
11 4.1

Start running after someone or something to catch them

is the action of running quickly rather than merely beginning to follow
to track down
vsto chase
9 4.6

To follow wild animals until you catch or kill them

is general running after any target rather than hunting wild animals for food or sport
to chase after
vsto chase
4 1.9

To run after someone or something to catch them

is the same meaning but often phrased without the extra particle
to run around after
vsto chase
  • Informal
1 4.0

Do a lot of things for someone who keeps asking for help

is a quick movement aimed at catching rather than repeated caregiving activity

Antonyms

stop
310 1.0

An act when something ends or pauses

halt
109 2.3

A stop in movement or activity

Idioms

to chase its tail
  • Informal
1 7.5

To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere

to chase rainbows
  • Informal
1 8.3

To try to achieve things that are very unlikely or impossible

to chase away the gloom
5.5

Make someone feel less sad and more cheerful

to chase one's tail
  • Informal
7.7

To waste time on busy work and make no progress

to chase skirt
  • Offensive
9.9

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

to chase the dollar
  • US
6.6

To try hard to earn a lot of money

Phrasal Verbs

to chase after
38 2.4

To try to reach or get something you want

to chase away
26 2.6

To make people or things leave by scaring them

to give chase
11 4.1

Start running after someone or something to catch them

to chase after
  • NSFW
11 3.7

To try to begin a romantic relationship with someone

to chase off
6 3.3

Make someone or something leave a place by running after and frightening them

to chase after
4 1.9

To run after someone or something to catch them

to chase after people
4.1

Try hard to get attention, approval or love from other people

to chase poontang
  • Offensive
9.9

To try to have sex with many different people

to chase the high
  • NSFW
9.3

To keep trying to feel the same excitement you felt the first time, often by taking risks or using drugs

Compounds

wild-goose chase
  • Informal
22 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

ambulance-chase law
  • Slang
9.9

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

ambulance-chase tactic
  • Slang
9.5

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

ambulance-chase lawyer
  • Offensive
8.9

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

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 Fast

to chase
855 1.0
to pursue
∞ 3.5
to follow
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

chase infinitive
chased past
chased past participle
chasing present participle
chases third person singular

Etymology

Chase as a verb comes from the same old word for 'to hunt', like hunt, so to chase someone is to run after them or follow them to try to catch them.