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| chase [ chayss ] |
verb (past and past participle chased, present participle chas·ing, 3rd person present singular chas·es) |
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1. transitive and intransitive verb pursue somebody: to follow somebody quickly in order to catch him or her
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2. transitive verb make somebody run away: to force a person or animal to run away
 The kids chased a black cat out of the garden.
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3. intransitive verb rush around: to rush around
 I chased around all day.
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4. transitive and intransitive verb pay persistent attention to somebody: to seek the company of somebody for romantic or sexual purposes, especially in an obvious or unsubtle way
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noun (plural chas·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. pursuit: an act or situation in which something or somebody is being pursued
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2. horseracing Same as steeplechasen (sense 1)
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3. something pursued: the target of a pursuit, especially an animal
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4. music jazz duet: a jazz duet in which the players play alternate phrases and try to outdo each other in virtuosity and invention
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| [13th century. Via Old French chacier "seize" < Latin captare "try to seize" < capere "take"] |
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cut to the chase to stop wasting time and get on with what needs to be dealt with (informal)
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give chase to pursue something or somebody forcefully (formal)
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