chase

¹

[cheys]

verb (used with object)

chased, chasing 

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, chasing 

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. give chase,  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, chasing 

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. Salmon Portland 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 /

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,  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 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. informal,  to start talking about the important aspects of something

9. to pursue (a person, animal, or thing) actively

chase

²

/ 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. Also: chamfer. to cut a groove, furrow, or flute in (a surface, column, etc)

chase

³

/ tʃeɪs /

verb

1. Also: enchase. to ornament (metal) by engraving or embossing

2. to form or finish (a screw thread) with a chaser

Other Word Forms

• chaseable 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

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

Origin of chase²

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 chase³

C14: from Old French enchasser _enchase

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

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

“Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chase headlines simply because they can’t attract viewers,” the company said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

"Our defence is pretty good and I'll have my wings chasing back and helping out, but when they break the line it's fight or flight."

From BBC

From then on, England never got on top of the chase.

From BBC

But once companies develop products based on all that innovation, they’ve tended to move the manufacturing, with its high paying blue-collar jobs, elsewhere, chasing fewer regulations, cheaper energy and a less expensive cost of living.

From Los Angeles Times

Caravello is accused of chasing after a tear gas canister that rolled past him and throwing it overhand back at Border Patrol agents.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drive 
• drive away www.thesaurus.com
• expel 
• follow 
• go after 
• hound 
• hunt 
• run down 
• rush 
• tear 
• track 
• trail