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.

---

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

Lee noted that Microsoft is pursuing a broader strategy around proprietary AI models, expanding its frontier AI partners and vertically integrating infrastructure that spans cloud, data, security and application layers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

One area he’s pursuing is using AI to automate inventory forecasting and replenishment, helping managers figure out what they need to order and potentially even placing the orders for them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

But she says when women take a more active role in pursuing relationships, they are judged differently.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

The actor’s brothers allege that, because of their lack of access to Boseman’s estate, they are “blocked from pursuing lucrative business opportunities” that might benefit their “elderly parents.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

As time passed, the bands spread far and wide, pursuing mammoths, mastodons, rhinoceroses and reindeer.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari