chase

plural chases · alternative chace

1. countableuncountableThe act of one who chases another; a pursuit.
2. countableuncountableA hunt; the act of hunting; the pursuit of game.

   He was a good shot and passionately fond of the chase, and used to spend many hours in the neighbouring woods after the harts and the wild sows.

   1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 58

   2 more examples

   By-and-by, she wandered away to an unnecessary revelation of her master's whereabouts: gone to help in the search for his landlord, the Sieur de Poissy, who lived at the château just above, and who had not returned from his chase the day before; so the intendant imagined he might have met with some accident, and had summoned the neighbours to beat the forest and the hill-side.

   1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman

   Through male bonding, the subculture of the hunt caught up in the mystique of the chase, the hunting party became a military force, and men discovered that they need not stop at defense: they could go out to hunt for other people's wealth.

   1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 134

3. uncountableA children's game where one player chases another.

   So we played chase up and down the concourses of the airport.

   2009, Martin J. Levin, We Were Relentless: A Family's Journey to Overcome Disability, page 41

   1 more example

   Some children like to be caught when playing chase, and others do not.

   1996, Marla Pender McGhee, Quick & Fun Learning Activities for 1 Year Olds, page 25

4. UKcountableuncountableA large country estate where game may be shot or hunted.

   Outside, the stately oaks, rooted for ages in the green ground which has never known ploughshare, but was still a chase when kings rode to battle with sword and shield and rode a-hunting with bow and arrow, bear witness to his greatness.

   1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 14, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC

5. countableuncountableAnything being chased, especially a vessel in time of war.
6. countableobsoleteuncountableA wild animal that is hunted.

   Hold, Warwick, seek thee out some other chase, For I myself must hunt this deer to death.

   1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]

   1 more example

   As touching the Harte and such other light chases or beasts of Uenerie, the huntesmen on horsebacke may followe theyr houndes alwayes by the same wayes that they saw him passe ouer,

   1575, George Gascoigne, chapter 40, in The Noble Arte of Venerie of Hunting, London: Christopher Barker, page 111

   Synonyms: game

7. countableuncountablenauticalAny of the guns that fire directly ahead or astern; either a bow chase or stern chase.
8. countableuncountablereal tennisThe occurrence of a second bounce by the ball in certain areas of the court, giving the server the chance, later in the game, to "play off" the chase from the receiving end and possibly win the point.
9. countableuncountablereal tennisA division of the floor of a gallery, marked by a figure or otherwise; the spot where a ball falls, and between which and the dedans the adversary must drive the ball in order to gain a point.
10. countableuncountablecyclingOne or more riders who are ahead of the peloton and trying to join the race or stage leaders.
11. countableuncountableentertainmentA series of brief improvised jazz solos by a number of musicians taking turns.

present singular third person chases · participle present chasing · participle past chased · past chased · alternative chace

1. To pursue.
   1. transitiveTo follow at speed.
   2. transitiveTo hunt.
   3. transitiveTo seek to attain.

      The team are chasing their first home win this season.

   4. transitiveTo persistently pursue someone as a sexual or romantic partner.

      He spends all his free time chasing girls.

      2 more examples

      She was the girl, I know that now. But I pushed her away. So, I've spent every day since then chasing Amy… so to speak.

      1997, Kevin Smith, Chasing Amy, spoken by Silent Bob

      But here's my number, so call me, maybe / And all the other boys try to chase me

      2011, “Call Me Maybe”, performed by Carly Rae Jepsen

   5. transitivenauticalTo pursue a vessel in order to destroy, capture or interrogate her.
   6. Hong KongMalaysiacolloquialtransitiveTo pressure another person; to nag

      I am not chasing you, I am asking you to do it professionally!

2. transitiveTo consume another beverage immediately after drinking hard liquor, typically something better tasting or less harsh such as soda or beer; to use a drink as a chaser.

   I need something to chase this shot with.

   2 more examples

   [He] chases his bedtime Valium with Johnny Walker Red.

   1986, Joseph Beam, “Brother to Brother: Words from the Heart”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 240

   John ordered quite a few drinks. I think I stopped at four. He kept ordering straight shots of tequila and chasing them with a beer. Then he’d tear off the filter on his cigarette before smoking it.

   2015, John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, New York: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 401

3. transitiveball gamesTo attempt to win by scoring the required number of runs in the final innings.

   Australia will be chasing 217 for victory on the final day.

4. transitiveball gamesTo swing at a pitch outside of the strike zone, typically an outside pitch.

   Jones chases one out of the zone for strike two.

5. transitiveball gamesTo produce enough offense to cause the pitcher to be removed.

   The rally chased the starter.

plural chases

1. mediaA rectangular steel or iron frame into which pages or columns of type are locked for printing or plate-making.

   1 more example

   The die-maker should work upon the surface of an imposing table. First, he places on the table the chase in which the die is to be locked up. Second, he fills in the chase with regular printer’s wood furniture, leaving space in the center for the die, and placing locking quoins near the top of the chase and on the right-hand side of the chase. Third, the cutting and creasing rules are set in the open space in the center of the chase, filling in with metal or wood furniture.

   1920, Robert F. Salade, chapter IX, in How Paper Boxes are Made

plural chases

1. A groove cut in an object; a slot: the chase for the quarrel on a crossbow.
2. architectureA trench or channel or other encasement structure for encasing (archaically spelled enchasing) drainpipes or wiring; a hollow space in the wall of a building encasing ventilation ducts, chimney flues, wires, cables or plumbing.
3. The part of a gun in front of the trunnions.
4. The cavity of a mold.
5. businessA kind of joint by which an overlap joint is changed to a flush joint by means of a gradually deepening rabbet, as at the ends of clinker-built boats.

present singular third person chases · participle present chasing · participle past chased · past chased

1. transitiveTo groove; indent.
2. transitiveTo place piping or wiring in a groove encased within a wall or floor, or in a hidden space encased by a wall.

   chase the pipe

3. transitiveTo cut (the thread of a screw).
4. transitiveTo decorate (metal) by engraving or embossing.

plural Chases · alternative Chayce

1. countableuncountableA surname transferred from the nickname from a Middle English nickname for a hunter.
2. countableuncountableA unisex given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.

   “Chase Strangio is our nation’s leading legal expert on the rights of transgender people, bar none,” said Cecillia Wang, the ACLU’s legal director.

   2024 October 21, Devan Cole, “ACLU attorney will be the first openly transgender advocate to argue before Supreme Court”, in CNN

   1 more example

   “We’re in a moment in this country where transgender people in this country are under attack in lawless ways,” said Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represented transgender teens at the high court.

   2025 June 18, John Fritze and Devan Cole, “Takeaways from the Supreme Court’s historic decision on transgender care”, in CNN

3. A placename
   1. countableuncountableA village and river in British Columbia, Canada.
   2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Madison County, Alabama.
   3. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska.
   4. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Grant Township, Benton County, Indiana.
   5. countableuncountableA city in Rice County, Kansas.
   6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Franklin Parish, Louisiana.
   7. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland.
   8. countableuncountableA township in Lake County, Michigan.
   9. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
   10. countableuncountableA town and unincorporated community in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
   11. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of Chase County.