Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - chase

(chases, chasing, chased) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you chase someone, or chase after them, you run after them or follow them quickly in order to catch or reach them. She chased the thief for 100 yards... He said nothing to waiting journalists, who chased after him as he left. = pursue VERB: V n, V after n • Chase is also a noun. He was reluctant to give up the chase... Police said he was arrested without a struggle after a car chase through the streets of Biarritz. = pursuit N-COUNT 2. If you are chasing something you want, such as work or money, you are trying hard to get it. In Wales, 14 people are chasing every job... ...publishers and booksellers chasing after profits from high-volume sales. VERB: V n, V after n • Chase is also a noun. They took an invincible lead in the chase for the championship. N-SING: N for n 3. If someone chases someone that they are attracted to, or chases after them, they try hard to persuade them to have a sexual relationship with them. I’m not very good at flirting or chasing women... ‘I was always chasing after unsuitable men,’ she says. VERB: V n, V after n • Chase is also a noun. The chase is always much more exciting than the conquest anyway. N-SING: the N 4. If someone chases you from a place, they force you to leave by using threats or violence. Many farmers will then chase you off their land quite aggressively... Angry demonstrators chased him away. VERB: V n from/out of/off n, V n away/off/out 5. If someone cuts to the chase, they start talking about or dealing with what is important, instead of less important things. Hi everyone, we all know why we are here today, so let’s cut to the chase. PHRASE: V inflects 6. To chase someone from a job or a position or from power means to force them to leave it. His single-minded pursuit of European union helped chase Mrs Thatcher from power. VERB: V n from/out of n 7. If you chase somewhere, you run or rush there. They chased down the stairs into the narrow, dirty street. = race, dash VERB: V prep/adv 8. see also wild goose chase 9. If you give chase, you run after someone or follow them quickly in order to catch them. Other officers gave chase but the killers escaped. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you talk about the thrill of the chase, you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something. People who adore the thrill of the chase know that prizes, like diamonds, are worth striving for. PHRASE