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.
That framework gives “Plainclothes” the feeling of an emotional chase film where pursuer and pursued are the same, stuck in a loop of possibility, torn about what being caught really means.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2025
And was actually 0.125secs faster than Verstappen, his closest pursuer, in the final sector.
From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025
His closest pursuer was Andrew Novak, who was 5 under through nine holes.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2024
He crossed the finish line more than a minute ahead of his closest pursuer, throwing his skinned arms in the air in celebration of the Netherlands’ first title in 38 years.
From Washington Times • Aug. 6, 2023
All he was supposed to do was to stand outside and push a garbage can in front of a potential pursuer.
From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
