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chase1

Pronunciation: /tʃeɪs/
Translate chase | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of chase

verb

[with object]
  • 1pursue in order to catch or catch up with:police chased the stolen car through the city [no object]:the dog chased after the stick
  • seek to attain:the team are chasing their first home win this season
  • seek the company of (a member of the opposite sex) in an obvious way:he spends all his free time chasing girls
  • 2 [with object and adverbial of direction] drive or cause to go in a specified direction:she chased him out of the house
  • [no object, with adverbial of direction] rush in a specified direction:he chased down the motorway
  • 3try to obtain (something owed or required):the company employs people to chase up debts
  • try to make contact with (someone) in order to obtain something owed or required:the council recently appointed its own team of bailiffs to chase non-payers
  • (chase something up (or US down)) make further investigation of an unresolved matter.

noun

  • an act of pursuing someone or something:they captured the youths after a brief chase
  • short for steeplechase.
  • (the chase) hunting as a sport:she was an ardent follower of the chase
  • [in place names] British an area of unenclosed land formerly reserved for hunting:Cannock Chase
  • archaic a hunted animal.

Phrases

chase the game

(in soccer) adopt attacking tactics, especially when losing, at the risk of being vulnerable to counter-attack: we made the mistake of trying to chase the game instead of playing it tight

chase shadows

pursue illusory targets:I found that the three-day mission did little more than chase shadows

give chase

go in pursuit: a patrol car gave chase and finally overtook him officers gave chase to one of the thieves

go and chase oneself

[in imperative] informal go away.

the thrill of the chase

see thrill.

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French chacier (verb), chace (noun), based on Latin captare 'continue to take', from capere 'take'

chase in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of chase in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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