Library / English Dictionary

CHASE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture

Example:

the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit

Synonyms:

chase; following; pursual; pursuit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("chase" is a kind of...):

motion; move; movement (the act of changing location from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chase"):

tracking; trailing (the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind)

shadowing; tailing (the act of following someone secretly)

stalk; stalking (the act of following prey stealthily)

Derivation:

chase (go after with the intent to catch)

chase (pursue someone sexually or romantically)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A rectangular metal frame used in letterpress printing to hold together the pages or columns of composed type that are printed at one time

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("chase" is a kind of...):

frame (the framework for a pair of eyeglasses)

Sense 3

Meaning:

United States politician and jurist who served as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1808-1873)

Synonyms:

Chase; Salmon P. Chase; Salmon Portland Chase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

chief justice (the judge who presides over a supreme court)

pol; political leader; politician; politico (a person active in party politics)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cut a furrow into a columns

Synonyms:

chamfer; chase; furrow

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "chase" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cut a groove into

Example:

chase silver

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "chase" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Go after with the intent to catch

Example:

the dog chased the rabbit

Synonyms:

chase; chase after; dog; give chase; go after; tag; tail; track; trail

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "chase" is one way to...):

follow; pursue (follow in or as if in pursuit)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "chase"):

tree (chase an animal up a tree)

quest (search the trail of (game))

hound; hunt; trace (pursue or chase relentlessly)

run down (pursue until captured)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They chase the car down the avenue

Also:

chase away (force to go away; used both with concrete and metaphoric meanings)

Derivation:

chase (the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture)

chaser (a drink to follow immediately after another drink)

chaser (a person who is pursuing and trying to overtake or capture)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Pursue someone sexually or romantically

Synonyms:

chase; chase after

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "chase" is one way to...):

court; romance; solicit; woo (make amorous advances towards)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot chase Sue

Derivation:

chase (the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Then with a grand effort she rallied from the shock, and a supreme astonishment and indignation chased every other expression from her features.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Genetic Monitoring Facility functions to protect the genetic integrity of the inbred strains and transgenic lines of rodents utilized in the various research programs at Fox Chase.

(Laboratory Animal Genetic Monitoring Resource, NCI Thesaurus)

“This is the final stage of a decades-long chase to pin down the origin of the elements,” says Watson.

(First identification of a heavy element born from neutron star collision, ESO)

The legend of Erik the Red itself may mask what Barrett calls “ecological globalisation”: the chasing of natural resources as supply dwindles.

(Over-hunting walruses contributed to the collapse of Norse Greenland, University of Cambridge)

Chasing an errant swarm of bees is nothing to following a naked lunatic, when the fit of escaping is upon him!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Watching his chance, he darted away, and the chase was resumed.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He had served, as he was proud to say, in the last of our ships which had been chased out of the Mediterranean in ’97, and in the first which had re-entered it in ’98.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Many a time have I won a gallon of ale by covering a mile in three flights down Wilverley Chase.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Yes, out it came, and away ran Polly, frightened to death, and scrambled up on Aunt's chair, calling out, 'Catch her! Catch her! Catch her!' as I chased the spider.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

At last, however, as we reached the thicker woods they gave up the chase, and we saw them no more.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)