Chase Meaning
/t͡ʃeɪs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act of one who chases another; a pursuit.
nounA hunt; the act of hunting; the pursuit of game.
Sentence Examples
He was arrested by police after a TV chase in Osaka.
This cat doesn't chase rats.
The thieves were caught by police after a short chase.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police officer had to ____ the thief through the busy market square.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cat began to ____ the mouse through the kitchen this morning.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English chacen, from Anglo-Norman chacer, Old French chacier, from Vulgar Latin *captiāre, from Latin captāre, frequentative of capere. Compare French chasser (“to hunt”, “to chase”), Spanish cazar (“to hunt”), Portuguese caçar (“to hunt”) , see Norwegian skysse (“to hunt”). Doublet of catch and related to capture. Displaced native Old English ōht, ēhtnes, and wāþ. Broadly overtook Old English huntaþ.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police officer had to ____ the thief through the busy market square.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The cat began to ____ the mouse through the kitchen this morning.