pursue
Americanverb (used with object)
-
pursues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pursued,
past participle, past
-
pursuing
present participle
-
to follow in order to overtake, capture, kill, etc.; chase.
-
to follow close upon; go with; attend.
Bad luck pursued him.
- Synonyms:
- dog
-
to strive to gain; seek to attain or accomplish (an end, object, purpose, etc.).
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to proceed in accordance with (a method, plan, etc.).
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to carry on or continue (a course of action, a train of thought, an inquiry, studies, etc.).
-
to continue to annoy, afflict, or trouble.
-
to practice (an occupation, pastime, etc.).
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to continue to discuss (a subject, topic, etc.).
-
to follow.
They pursued the river to its source. I felt their eyes pursuing me.
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to continue; go on with (one's course, a journey, etc.).
verb (used without object)
-
pursues,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pursued,
past participle, past
-
pursuing
present participle
-
to chase after someone or something; to follow in pursuit.
They spotted the suspect but decided not to pursue.
-
to continue.
verb
-
(also intr) to follow (a fugitive, etc) in order to capture or overtake
-
(esp of something bad or unlucky) to follow closely or accompany
ill health pursued her
-
to seek or strive to attain (some object, desire, etc)
-
to follow the precepts of (a plan, policy, etc)
-
to apply oneself to (one's studies, hobbies, etc)
-
to follow persistently or seek to become acquainted with
-
to continue to discuss or argue (a point, subject, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pursuernoun
-
outpursueverb (used with object)
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repursueverb (used with object)
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pursuableadjective
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unpursuableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pursuesimple
-
pursuessimple
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have pursuedperfect
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has pursuedperfect
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am pursuingprogressive
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are pursuingprogressive
-
is pursuingprogressive
-
have been pursuingperfect progressive
-
has been pursuingperfect progressive
Past
-
pursuedsimple
-
had pursuedperfect
-
was pursuingprogressive
-
were pursuingprogressive
-
had been pursuingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pursue
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-French pursuer, ultimately from Latin prōsequī “to pursue, follow, continue”; see pro- 1, sue, prosecute
Explanation
Use the verb pursue when you're chasing after someone or something. A hungry lion might pursue a zebra, the paparazzi might pursue a celebrity, and a young dancer might pursue her dream of becoming a prima ballerina. Pursue originally meant "to follow with hostile intent," from a Latin root word, prosequi, "follow, accompany, follow after, or follow up." Today, when you pursue someone, it's not necessarily with bad intentions. A police officer, for example, might pursue a criminal, and your dog might pursue your cat around the house just for fun. If you pursue a career in journalism, you are working to achieve it. Likewise, you pursue a strategy or a hobby if you do it consistently.
Vocabulary lists containing pursue
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"Creativity at Work" and "The Hidden Secrets of the Creative Mind"
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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.
See Examples For:
Schmitt said there can be a number of reasons why the IDF may be unable to publicly reveal the details of an investigation or a decision not to pursue one.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
As artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, reports of AI systems misleading users, working together, or appearing to pursue independent goals are becoming increasingly common.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
They instead pursue a slow-and-steady approach that is expected to shine only over the very long term.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The effort comes as civil rights groups pursue their own election-protection initiatives, including Vote Safe, which has begun deploying trained community volunteers to polling locations in several battleground states.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
It gave me the impression she did not want to pursue the subject.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
“You really do need to find what’s the right line between staying within scope, but also avoiding laziness in terms of how the model actually pursues tasks even when it hits friction.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Last week, she asked the Supreme Court to take away the parents’ right to control the medical care of the child while she pursues her request for custody in the Texas courts.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The British Embassy filed court documents asking the judge to keep the Tates in custody as the UK pursues extradition.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
But plans to reconnect South Korea's northernmost station to the rail network come at an awkward moment, as Pyongyang ignores Seoul's overtures while the South's old ally Washington pursues its own talks with Pyongyang.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
He entered on the path he had marked for himself; he pursues it still.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
So began the midcentury craze for the key to mind control pursued by, among others, the CIA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Although Nazi Germany pursued nuclear research through a program known as the Uranprojekt, historians have long debated how close its scientists came to developing a functioning reactor.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Since 1989 Gromit, the animated dog from Bristol's Aardman Animations, has shared adventures with his cheese-loving owner Wallace, from spaceflight to being pursued by robotic garden gnomes.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
With that, after just 15 minutes, Zacharia declared the briefing finished and walked out, pursued by the sound of reporters shouting unanswered questions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
He pursued his theme, however, without noticing my deprecation.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The robotics field is pursuing the same playbook that powered the rise of large language models, aiming to teach AI models about the physical world by feeding them as much data as possible.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Legal experts have cautioned that pursuing companies linked to the ongoing pollution remains challenging, with investigations reliant on cooperation from foreign authorities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
He had no regrets about pursuing Mamdani to the vigil.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Based on the totality of the evidence in the case, including the body worn camera video, we determined that pursuing the probation violation was the most appropriate sanction,” she wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
When more government records were declassified, they confirmed that Elizebeth had played a major role in pursuing Nazi spies.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
