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

to chase

∞ 1.0

To run after someone or something to catch them

verb
/tʃeɪs/

: 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 go after

vsto chase

∞ 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 pursue

vsto chase

877 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 hunt

vsto chase

372 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

65 5.9

To follow someone closely and secretly to watch them

is about open quick running after rather than secret close following

to chase after

vsto chase

56 1.9

To run after someone or something to catch them

is the same meaning but often phrased without the extra particle

to dog

vsto chase

46 6.8

To follow someone closely and keep causing them trouble

is about swift running after to catch rather than long annoying persistence

to trail

vsto chase

41 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

21 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 give chase

vsto chase

14 4.1

Start running after someone or something to catch them

is the action of running quickly rather than merely beginning to follow

to run down

vsto chase

5 4.1

To follow and catch a person, animal or vehicle

is about moving quickly to catch rather than a long effort

to track down

vsto chase

1 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 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

117 1.0

An act when something ends or pauses

halt

93 2.3

A stop in movement or activity

Idioms

to chase rainbows

Informal

2 8.3

To try to achieve things that are very unlikely or impossible

to chase skirt

Offensive

2 9.9

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

to chase its tail

Informal

1 7.5

To keep doing the same task without getting anywhere

to chase the dollar

1 6.6

To try hard to earn a lot of money

to chase one's tail

Informal

1 7.7

To waste time on busy work and make no progress

to chase away the gloom

1 5.5

Make someone feel less sad and more cheerful

Phrasal Verbs

to chase after

56 1.9

To run after someone or something to catch them

to chase away

38 2.6

To make people or things leave by scaring them

to chase off

18 3.3

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

to chase after

15 2.4

To try to reach or get something you want

to give chase

14 4.1

Start running after someone or something to catch them

to chase after

NSFW

7 3.7

To try to begin a romantic relationship with someone

to chase the high

NSFW

1 9.3

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

to chase after people

1 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

Compounds

wild-goose chase

Informal

27 6.6

A hopeless search for something that does not exist

ambulance-chase lawyer

Offensive

1 8.9

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

paper chase

Archaic

1 7.7

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

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

How Fast

to chase

∞ 1.0

to pursue

877 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.