pursued; pursuing
1
: to follow in order to overtake, capture, kill, or defeat
2
: to find or employ measures to obtain or accomplish : seek
pursue a goal
3
: to proceed along
pursues a northern course
4
a
: to engage in
pursue a hobby
b
: to follow up or proceed with
pursue an argument
5
: to continue to afflict : haunt
was pursued by horrible memories
6
: chase entry 2 sense 1c
pursued by dozens of fans
: to go in pursuit
pursuer
noun
Examples of pursue in a Sentence
It is this peace among the Great Powers—at least for the near term—that makes it truly possible both to pursue my vision of the post-Cold War world and, at the same time, to hedge against failure by maintaining the capacity to protect ourselves and our interests …
—
Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect, 1995
The monster truck pursued him at insane speeds, through phone booths and gas pumps and even over cliffs, but he never knew why.
—Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 14-28 July 1994
In a world of nation-states the assumption that governments will pursue their own interests gives order and predictability to international affairs.
—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., American Heritage, 3 May/June 1994
Hounds pursued the fox for miles.
The criminal is being pursued by police.
He chose to pursue a college degree.
She wants to pursue a legal career.
Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect, 1995
The monster truck pursued him at insane speeds, through phone booths and gas pumps and even over cliffs, but he never knew why.
—Hunter S. Thompson, Rolling Stone, 14-28 July 1994
In a world of nation-states the assumption that governments will pursue their own interests gives order and predictability to international affairs.
—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., American Heritage, 3 May/June 1994
Hounds pursued the fox for miles.
The criminal is being pursued by police.
He chose to pursue a college degree.
She wants to pursue a legal career.
Recent Examples on the Web
The process is too time-intensive and costly, with not enough ROI for lenders to continue pursuing and untenable lending terms for SMBs to accept.
—Brock Blake, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Resolution had pursued the land exchange with the Forest Service for about 10 years before it became attached as a last-minute rider to a defense bill by lawmakers led by the late Sen. John McCain in December 2014.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The court ruled that the actor's rights had been violated because a special prosecutor pursued charges that were previously dropped by the Cook County State's Attorney.
—Brianne Tracy, People.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani Group have, likewise, reportedly been pursuing deals with Chinese companies , with Adani Group founder Gautam Adani visiting companies like battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology in June.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pursue
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Brock Blake, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Resolution had pursued the land exchange with the Forest Service for about 10 years before it became attached as a last-minute rider to a defense bill by lawmakers led by the late Sen. John McCain in December 2014.
—Debra Utacia Krol, AZCentral.com, 20 Aug. 2025
The court ruled that the actor's rights had been violated because a special prosecutor pursued charges that were previously dropped by the Cook County State's Attorney.
—Brianne Tracy, People.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani Group have, likewise, reportedly been pursuing deals with Chinese companies , with Adani Group founder Gautam Adani visiting companies like battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology in June.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pursue
Cite this Entry
“Pursue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pursue. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pursue
verb
pur·sue
pər-ˈsü 
pursued; pursuing
1
: to follow in order to catch up with and seize
2
: to try to obtain or accomplish : seek
pursue pleasure
3
: to proceed along
pursue a northerly course
4
: to engage in : practice
pursue a hobby
5
: to continue to distress severely : haunt
pursued by fear
pursuer
noun
Etymology
Middle English pursuen "to follow in order to capture or kill," derived from early French pursure, pursiure (same meaning), derived from Latin prosequi "to follow after, pursue," from pro- "forward" and sequi "to follow" — related to sequel
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