pursue

verb

pur·​sue pər-ˈsü 

-ˈsyü

pursued; pursuing

transitive verb

1

: to follow in order to overtake, catch, kill, or defeat

Hounds pursued the fox for miles.

The suspect is being pursued by police.

2

: to find or employ measures to obtain or accomplish : seek

pursue a goal

She wants to pursue a legal career.

Because of the size of the project, the funders decided to pursue a two-tier study.

—Kayla Dwyer

3

: to proceed along

The ship pursued a northern course.

4

a

: to engage in : to be involved in

pursue a hobby

If pursued in the right way, your vocation could add years of healthy living.

—Matt Fuchs

b

: to follow up or proceed with

pursue a case

I'll be meeting with my lawyer to pursue this matter further.

5

: chase entry 2 sense 1c

pursued by dozens of fans

6

: to continue to afflict : haunt

was pursued by horrible memories

intransitive verb

: to go in pursuit

pursuer noun

changed direction to confuse his pursuers

Synonyms of pursue

• chase
• track
• follow

Choose the Right Synonym for pursue

chase, pursue, follow, trail mean to go after or on the track of something or someone.

chase implies going swiftly after and trying to overtake something fleeing or running.

a dog chasing a cat

pursue suggests a continuing effort to overtake, reach, or attain.

pursued the criminal through narrow streets

follow puts less emphasis upon speed or intent to overtake.

friends followed me home in their car

trail may stress a following of tracks or traces rather than a visible object.

trail deer

trailed a suspect across the country

Examples of pursue in a Sentence

It is this peace among the Great Powers—at least for the near term—that makes it truly possible both to pursue my vision of the post-Cold War world and, at the same time, to hedge against failure by maintaining the capacity to protect ourselves and our interests … —Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect, 1995

The monster truck pursued him at insane speeds, through phone booths and gas pumps and even over cliffs, but he never knew why. —Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 14-28 July 1994

In a world of nation-states the assumption that governments will pursue their own interests gives order and predictability to international affairs. —Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., American Heritage, 3 May/June 1994

Hounds pursued the fox for miles.

The criminal is being pursued by police.

He chose to pursue a college degree.

She wants to pursue a legal career.

Recent Examples on the Web

While pursuing conservative, anti-migrant policies domestically, Meloni adopted a pragmatic approach toward the European Union and became one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in its war against Russia. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Despite the credit card records, however, the prosecutor’s office concluded in December 2017 that there was insufficient evidence – and did not pursue the case any further. — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026

Amid this confusion, SDMA, which celebrated its hundredth anniversary this year, is pursuing a major renovation of its West Wing. — News Desk, Artforum, 12 Aug. 2026

On Tuesday, the San Diego County district attorney’s office announced its decision to pursue capital punishment against Leticia McCormack, who was an ordained elder and youth minister at a San Diego church. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French pursure, pursiure, from Latin prosequi, from pro- forward + sequi to follow — more at pro-, sue

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for pursue

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

pursue

verb

pur·​sue pər-ˈsü 

pursued; pursuing

1

: to follow in order to catch up with and seize

2

: to try to obtain or accomplish : seek

pursue pleasure

3

: to proceed along

pursue a northerly course

4

: to engage in : practice

pursue a hobby

5

: to continue to distress severely : haunt

pursued by fear

pursuer noun

Etymology

Middle English pursuen "to follow in order to capture or kill," derived from early French pursure, pursiure (same meaning), derived from Latin prosequi "to follow after, pursue," from pro- "forward" and sequi "to follow" — related to sequel