chase

1 verb

1 FOLLOW (I, T) to quickly follow someone or something in order to catch them: Outside in the yard, kids were yelling and chasing each other. | chase sb along/down/up etc: The dog spotted a cat and chased it up a nearby tree. | chase sb away/off (=chase someone in order to make them leave): Harry chased the boys off with a stick.

(+ after): A favorite game was to chase after a passing farm cart and try to grab its tailboard.

2 HURRY (intransitive always + adv/prep) especially BrE to rush or hurry somewhere: around/up/down etc: Mum's been chasing round the shops all day.

3 TRY TO GET STH (intransitive + after, transitive) to use a lot of time and effort trying to get something such as work or money: The solicitor's doing everything she can to chase the contract.

4 MAN/WOMAN (T) to try hard to make someone notice you and pay attention to you, because you want to have a sexual relationship with them: It was embarrassing - Louise spent the entire party chasing me.

5 METAL (T) technical to decorate metal with a special tool: chased silver

6 chase the dragon slang to smoke the drug heroin

chase sb/sth up phrasal verb (T)

1 to remind someone to do something they promised to do for you: I had to chase Dick up to get those reports I asked for last week.

2 to try to make something happen or arrive more quickly, because it has been taking too long: Can you chase up those photos for me by tomorrow?

2 noun

1 (C) the act of following someone or something quickly in order to catch them: The movie began with a dramatic car chase.

2 give chase literary to chase someone or something: The hounds gave chase across the fields.

-see also: paper chase, wild-goose chase