Chase and Catch Are Two Different Claims
To chase is to pursue in order to catch. The word says nothing about success, which is what separates it from catch.
To chase is to run after someone or something in order to catch it. The verb reports the pursuit, never the outcome: you can chase all day and catch nothing, which is why *chase* and *catch* can never be swapped. English marks this distinction carefully — *seek* and *find*, *listen* and *hear*, *look* and *see* work the same way. A *chase* is also a strip of unenclosed hunting land, which survives in place names like Cannock Chase.
- To pursue. *The dog chased the ball.*
- A pursuit. *A long chase.*
- To pursue romantically. *He chased her for months.*
- Cut to the chase — get to the point. *Let's cut to the chase.*
- Wild goose chase — a hopeless pursuit. *A wild goose chase.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | chase | Chase him down. |
| Past | chased | They chased it. |
| Noun | chase | A car chase. |
| Agent | chaser | A storm chaser. |
| Related | catch | Catch him. |
- Police chased the car for two miles.Pursuit.
- Let's cut to the chase.From film editing.
- Chasing an invoice takes patience.Business: pursuing payment.
Attempt versus achievement
- Chase / catch — pursue, then succeed
- Seek / find — look for, then locate
- Listen / hear — attend, then perceive
- Look / see — direct the eyes, then perceive
- Study / learn — work at, then acquire
Old French *chacier*, to hunt, from Latin *captiare*, to try to catch, from *capere*. The same Latin verb also gave English *catch*.
Where does cut to the chase come from?
From early Hollywood, where the chase sequence was the exciting part. Cutting to it meant skipping the setup.
Are chase and catch related?
Yes, distantly. Both descend from Latin capere, to take, by different routes into English.