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

Fewer than a third regarded the North as a potential partner, and just over one in ten support actively pursuing reunification.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

The company is pursuing a $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. that requires sign-off from Trump’s own Justice Department.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, a newsletter that could have beaten Elon Musk to trillionaire status but is consciously pursuing a slow-growth model instead.

From Slate • Jun. 13, 2026

The nearly two dozen banks involved in the offering will now enjoy slices of the roughly $500 million offering fee that many spent years pursuing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

He’s a safety for the Tigers, fast on his feet and fearless with his tackles, and at the same time pursuing premed studies.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama