Showing results for "pursuing"

• present participle of pursue.

pursuing

American  

[per-soo-ing] / pərˈsu ɪŋ /

adjective

1. following someone or something in order to overtake, capture, woo, etc..

   Informed via radio that the alleged crime concerned an unpaid bill, the pursuing officers took down the vehicle's license plate information and stopped the chase.

2. continuing to accompany or affect someone, as success, bad luck, or fame.

   They renewed their love, were once more torn apart by pursuing misfortune, but in the end were happily reunited.

3. following or seeming to follow someone or something with one’s eyes, voice, thoughts, etc..

   He stared fearfully at the pursuing eyes of a portrait on the wall.

4. following or coming immediately after; ensuing.

   The program focuses on core courses in the first semester, and allows students to take their electives in the pursuing two semesters.

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Other Word Forms

• unpursuing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pursuing

pursu(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

When someone is described as pursuing, they are following or chasing another person (or thing) with the intent to catch. The pursuing player in a game of "tag" is "it," or the one doing the chasing. During a traditional English fox hunt, the barking dogs are the pursing animals, and the foxes are the ones being hunted. And during a typical cops-and-robbers chase, the pursuing officers are the ones in the police car with the siren blaring, racing after the getaway car. Pursuing and its related verb pursue come from the Latin prosequi, "follow or follow after."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pursuing

Barcelona have also been pursuing a deal for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez but Atletico have been clear of their intention to not negotiate with their La Liga rivals.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

But pursuing specialised regional industries is important to stop population loss to big cities, and to boost development in previously neglected areas, Zhejiang University economist Dong Xuebing has argued.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Kushner wanted to withdraw from graduate school, feeling he couldn’t give his classes enough attention while pursuing his startups, but was convinced to stay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

It’s a one-track, single-minded way of thinking, eerily reminiscent of, oh, I don’t know, a hungry coyote blindly pursuing a roadrunner.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Most of them were obviously not worth pursuing: someone seen in a car going by, stuff like that.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro