chase

¹

[ cheys ]

verb (used with object)

, chased, chas·ing.

1. to pursue in order to seize, overtake, etc.:

   The police officer chased the thief.

2. to pursue with intent to capture or kill, as game; hunt:

   to chase deer.

3. to follow or devote one's attention to with the hope of attracting, winning, gaining, etc.:

   He chased her for three years before she consented to marry him.

4. to drive or expel by force, threat, or harassment:

   She chased the cat out of the room.

   Synonyms: scatter, rout, oust

verb (used without object)

, chased, chas·ing.

1. to follow in pursuit:

   to chase after someone.

2. to rush or hasten:

   We spent the weekend chasing around from one store to another.

noun

1. the act of chasing; pursuit:

   The chase lasted a day.

   Synonyms: quest, hunt

2. an object of pursuit; something chased.
3. Chiefly British. a private game preserve; a tract of privately owned land reserved for, and sometimes stocked with, animals and birds to be hunted.
4. British. the right of keeping game or of hunting on the land of others.
5. a steeplechase.
6. the chase, the sport or occupation of hunting:

   the excitement of the chase.

verb phrase

1. to pursue:

   The hunt began and the dogs gave chase.

chase

²

[ cheys ]

noun

1. a rectangular iron frame in which composed type is secured or locked for printing or platemaking.
2. Building Trades. a space or groove in a masonry wall or through a floor for pipes or ducts.
3. a groove, furrow, or trench; a lengthened hollow.
4. Ordnance.
   1. the part of a gun in front of the trunnions.
   2. the part containing the bore.

chase

³

[ cheys ]

verb (used with object)

, chased, chas·ing.

1. to ornament (metal) by engraving or embossing.
2. to cut (a screw thread), as with a chaser or machine tool.

Chase

⁴

[ cheys ]

noun

1. Mary Ellen, 1887–1973, U.S. educator, novelist, and essayist.
2. Sal·mon Portland [sal, -m, uh, n], 1808–73, U.S. jurist and statesman: secretary of the treasury 1861–64; chief justice of the U.S. 1864–73.
3. Samuel, 1741–1811, U.S. jurist and leader in the American Revolution: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1796–1811.
4. Stuart, 1888–1985, U.S. economist and writer.

chase

¹

/ 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

1. Alsochamfer to cut a groove, furrow, or flute in (a surface, column, etc)

chase

²

/ tʃeɪs /

verb

1. Alsoenchase to ornament (metal) by engraving or embossing
2. to form or finish (a screw thread) with a chaser

chase

³

/ 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. informal.
   tr to court (a member of the opposite sex) in an unsubtle manner
4. informal.
   troften foll byup to pursue persistently and energetically in order to obtain results, information, etc

   chase up the builders and get a delivery date

5. informal.
   intr to hurry; rush

noun

1. the act of chasing; pursuit
2. any quarry that is pursued
3. an unenclosed area of land where wild animals are preserved to be hunted
4. the right to hunt a particular quarry over the land of others
5. the chase
   the act or sport of hunting
6. short for steeplechase
7. real tennis a ball that bounces twice, requiring the point to be played again
8. cut to the chase informal.
   to start talking about the important aspects of something
9. give chase
   to pursue (a person, animal, or thing) actively

Derived Forms

• ˈchaseable, adjective

Other Words From

• chasea·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chase¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chacen, chacien, from Middle French chasser “to hunt,” Old French chacier, from unattested Vulgar Latin captiāre; catch

Origin of chase²

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French chas, chasse, from Late Latin capsus (masculine), capsum (neuter) “fully or partly enclosed space,” variant of capsa case ²

Origin of chase³

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English chased (past participle); shortened variant of enchase

Word History and Origins

Origin of chase¹

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 capsa case ²

Origin of chase²

C14: from Old French enchasser enchase

Origin of chase³

C13: from Old French chacier, from Vulgar Latin captiāre (unattested), from Latin captāre to pursue eagerly, from capere to take; see catch

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cut to the chase, Informal. to get to the main point.

More idioms and phrases containing chase

see ambulance chaser ; cut to the chase ; give chase ; go fly a kite (chase yourself) ; lead a merry chase ; run (chase) after ; wild goose chase .

Example Sentences

Their play often involves physical actions like wrestling, mock biting, slapping, pulling, and chasing.

From Science Daily

The car eventually stopped in Highland Park, about 1½ miles from where the chase began.

From Los Angeles Times

Like selection, England have to be mindful not to devalue domestic achievements in favour of chasing star names.

From BBC

Everything about this ambitious, sweeping epic feels precisely calibrated, revealing the story of a Hungarian architect immigrating to America after WWII, a man chasing the American dream and finding it elusive and poisonous.

From Los Angeles Times

So is Jordan, who often chases McVay in a rolling baby walker.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hunt
• quest
• race