pursuer
AmericanEtymology
Origin of pursuer
Explanation
A pursuer is someone who is chasing someone or something. You could be a pursuer of truth and beauty, or perhaps a pursuer of the kid who took your lunch money. To pursue is to chase something, like a dog pursuing a squirrel. In that situation, the dog is a pursuer. Someone who’s trying to ask someone else out on a date is a pursuer. When the police are on a manhunt for a criminal, the police are pursuers. You could also say someone is a pursuer of a goal, like a pursuer of a medical degree. All pursuers want something and they're going after it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It features scenes of the rapper running from a pursuer in a Pinocchio mask - a symbol fans interpreted as "lies" following Drake around.
From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025
Indiana State: The loss re-opens the race atop the conference, with Drake the Sycamores’ closest pursuer.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2024
But what about another common rom-com trope, one that often goes hand in hand with the grand gesture: the pursuer so persistent he could be mistaken for a stalker?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2023
“While a just cause wins its champion wide support, an unjust one condemns its pursuer to be an outcast,” the report concludes.
From Washington Times • Feb. 28, 2023
They would allow no woman to be forced to marry against her will they told the newcomers, nor would they surrender any suppliant, no matter how feeble, and no matter how powerful the pursuer.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
