Meaning & use
pursue
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To follow or chase a person or animal in order to catch, attack, or question them.
Grammar: Takes an object: pursue the thief. It is more formal than chase.
Patterns
- pursue a suspect
- pursue the enemy
- pursue someone down the street
- be pursued by dogs
Police pursued the suspect through the market.
The documentary follows wolves pursuing deer across the snow.
She was pursued by reporters after the announcement.
verbtransitive
To work steadily toward a goal, career, interest, or result over time.
Grammar: Takes an object such as a degree, dream, policy, or line of work.
Patterns
- pursue a degree
- pursue a career
- pursue an interest
- pursue a goal
He moved to the city to pursue a career in design.
The charity pursues the goal of clean water for every village.
She continued to pursue her interest in astronomy at night.
verbtransitiveformal
To continue with an activity, inquiry, case, or discussion rather than stopping.
Grammar: Common with case, matter, question, inquiry, and line of thought.
Patterns
- pursue the matter
- pursue legal action
- pursue an inquiry
- pursue a lead
The committee decided not to pursue the complaint further.
Investigators pursued several leads before finding the warehouse.
I’d like to pursue that question after the break.
Word forms
| third person singular | pursues |
|---|---|
| past tense | pursued |
| past participle | pursued |
| -ing form | pursuing |
Common combinations
- pursue a career in
- She wants to pursue a career in nursing.
- pursue legal action
- The tenant threatened to pursue legal action over the deposit.
- pursue an interest
- He pursued an interest in local history after retiring.
- hotly pursue
- Reporters hotly pursued the senator through the terminal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chase
- Faster and more physical; pursue can be formal, legal, or long-term, not only running after someone.
- follow
- Broader and softer; pursuing adds effort toward catching or achieving.
- seek
- Focuses on wanting and trying to obtain; pursue implies sustained action toward it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: pursue or persuade? pursue or peruse?
pursue vs persuade
Persuade means to convince someone; the verb pursue has no r after pe and means chase or strive for.
pursue vs peruse
Peruse means to read carefully; pursue means follow or work toward a goal.
Practice
Choose the correct spelling and use.
Choose one answer.
The verb is pursue, spelled p-u-r-s-u-e, and it can take “medicine” as a goal. Peruse means read, and pursuit is a noun needing a verb like begin.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pursue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.