chasing
chasing — verb
- chasingpresent simple I / you / we / they
- chasings3rd person singular
- chasinging-ing form
- chasingedpast simple
1. to run or move fast after a person, animal, or thing because you want to catch i
to run or move fast after a person, animal, or thing because you want to catch it.
Reema chased the last bus across the square but missed it.
chase + object + across + place
Liam chased the puppy down the beach before it reached the road.
Two guards chased a thief through the station after the alarm rang.
physical pursuit of a person
Paloma chased the loose papers across the school yard in the wind.
- chase a thief
- chase a bus
- chase a ball
- chase after someone
Grammar Patterns
chase + person/animal/thing
chase + object + through/across/down + place
Usage Note
Usually takes a person, animal, or moving thing as its object. Common with route phrases such as 'through the park' or 'across the road' to show where the pursuit happens.
Common Mistakes
2. to move quickly from place to place because you are busy trying to do several th
to move quickly from place to place because you are busy trying to do several things.
Jessica was chasing around the office before the inspection began.
chase around = rush from place to place
Baraka spent the morning chasing between shops for the missing cake boxes.
Yan had been chasing around since dawn to get the festival stage ready.
Ari kept chasing from room to room while the twins got dressed.
from room to room shows repeated busy movement
- chase around
- chase about
- chase between meetings
- chase from room to room
- rush around
closest everyday equivalent
- dash about
suggests very quick short movements
- run around
common spoken alternative
- sit still
means staying in one place instead of moving about
- take it slowly
suggests calm, unhurried action
Grammar Patterns
chase around
chase about
chase from place to place
Usage Note
Usually appears with around, about, or a route like 'from room to room'. It describes hurried movement caused by many tasks, not pursuit of one target.
Common Mistakes
3. to work hard to get something valuable or difficult, such as money, success, or
to work hard to get something valuable or difficult, such as money, success, or approval.
Nicholas is chasing a promotion that only one manager can get this year.
chase + abstract goal
Élise spent months chasing funding for the after-school music program.
Ezra left his steady job to chase a place on the national team.
Cyrus keeps chasing bigger clients instead of fixing his slow app.
can suggest a harmful focus on gain
- chase a dream
- chase success
- chase funding
- chase a promotion
- chase approval
Grammar Patterns
chase + goal
chase + money/success/funding/approval
Usage Note
The object is usually something desired but not easy to obtain, such as success, money, votes, or permission. Distinguish from sense 1, which involves physical pursuit.
Common Mistakes
4. to keep trying to start a romantic relationship with someone, especially in a st
to keep trying to start a romantic relationship with someone, especially in a strong or repeated way.
Liam kept chasing a classmate who had already asked to stay friends.
persistent romantic pursuit
Jessica was tired of strangers chasing her after every music show.
Reema told her cousin to stop chasing people who never replied.
Ari spent months chasing the same woman with flowers and late texts.
often used critically when the attention is one-sided
- chase someone
- keep chasing
- stop chasing people
- chase after a crush
Grammar Patterns
chase + person
keep chasing + person
Usage Note
Usually said about persistent behaviour that may feel one-sided. It often has a critical tone when the other person is not equally interested.
Common Mistakes
5. to move at a person or animal aggressively so that it backs away.
to move at a person or animal aggressively so that it backs away.
The shop owner came out chasing the stray dog from the fruit stand.
chase + animal + from + place
Baraka ran outside chasing monkeys away from the school garden.
Yan grabbed a broom and started chasing the geese off the field.
chase off = force to leave
Paloma kept chasing pigeons from her balcony before they nested there.
- chase away birds
- chase off animals
- chase someone from the yard
- chase stray dogs away
- drive away
slightly more formal and less vivid
- scare off
focuses on frightening the target away
- shoo
informal and often used for birds or pets
Grammar Patterns
chase + animal/person + away
chase + animal/person + off/from + place
Usage Note
Often combines with away, off, or from to show that the goal is to make the person or animal leave. Distinguish from sense 1, where the goal is to catch.
chasing — noun
1. the activity of going after a person, animal, or thing so you can catch it.
the activity of going after a person, animal, or thing so you can catch it.
The children's chasing through the hotel corridor annoyed the other guests.
chasing used as the activity itself
The dog's sudden chasing of the bike riders frightened everyone nearby.
Constant chasing of the ball in wet grass wore the puppies out.
The chasing lasted an hour before the officers stopped the stolen scooter.
the chasing = one pursuit event
- wild chasing
- constant chasing
- chasing of the ball
- chasing through the yard
Grammar Patterns
chasing of + person/animal/thing
after + period of chasing
Usage Note
Often uncountable when speaking generally about the activity, but it can also appear in 'the chasing of ...' to name a particular pursuit. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about seeking a goal rather than physically running after something.
Common Mistakes
2. strong effort to get something you want very much, especially when it takes time
strong effort to get something you want very much, especially when it takes time or energy.
His endless chasing after online fame left him too tired to study.
chasing after + desired goal
The company's chasing of quick profits damaged its reputation in one year.
Their chasing after luxury brands pushed the family deeper into debt.
Jessica's chasing of approval from strangers never made her happier.
often suggests obsession rather than balance
- chasing after fame
- chasing after money
- chasing of profit
- constant chasing after success
- contentment
being satisfied instead of always trying to get more
Grammar Patterns
chasing after + goal
chasing of + profit/fame/approval
Usage Note
Commonly followed by after when the goal is general, or by of when naming a more formal target. It often has a negative tone, suggesting obsession or imbalance.
Common Mistakes
3. a part of a film or cartoon where characters run, drive, or race after one anoth
a part of a film or cartoon where characters run, drive, or race after one another.
The cartoon has plenty of chasing but very little dialogue.
chasing as film action
Children laughed at the endless chasing between the cat and the mouse.
The director filmed the rooftop chasing on real streets in Kaohsiung.
Fast editing made the final chasing exciting even on a small screen.
often discussed in reviews of action scenes
- comic chasing
- endless chasing
- rooftop chasing
- car chasing
- chase scene
the more usual everyday label
- pursuit sequence
more formal film-review wording
- action sequence
broader because it can include fighting or explosions too
- dialogue scene
focuses on talk rather than movement or pursuit
Grammar Patterns
plenty of chasing
chasing between characters
Usage Note
Used mostly when talking about films, cartoons, or stage action. In everyday conversation, people often choose the more explicit phrase 'chase scene'.
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
All four verbs involve going after something, but they differ in tone and range. 'Chase' is the most general and often suggests visible movement and urgency, as when you chase a bus, a thief, or a dog that has taken your sandwich. 'Run after' is more everyday and physical, but it sounds less formal and usually stays in simple spoken situations. 'Pursue' is broader: you can pursue a suspect, but you can also pursue a degree, a legal case, or a personal goal. 'Hunt' is narrower and often suggests a longer, more deliberate search, especially for animals, criminals, or missing items. You might chase a puppy for ten seconds, pursue a suspect across town, and hunt for evidence all afternoon.
Common collocations
Adverbs
- frantically
- relentlessly
Phrases
- go chasing after
- keep chasing
- stop chasing
- spend the day chasing
Etymology
The word 'chasing' is the -ing form of 'chase'. 'Chase' came into English from Old French 'chacier', meaning to hunt or pursue, and that French verb is linked to Late Latin 'captiare', a frequentative form related to Latin 'capere' meaning 'to take or catch'. In English, the core idea has stayed stable: moving after someone or something in order to catch it. From that physical meaning, later uses grew naturally, such as chasing success, chasing romance, and using 'chasing' as a noun for pursuit on screen.