What does chaseable mean?
"Chaseable" is an adjective meaning capable of being chased, pursued, or hunted down. It is formed from the verb "chase," which entered Middle English from Old French "chacier," combined with the productive suffix "-able." The word appears in contexts where something — an animal, a person, a ball, or even an abstract goal like a record — is within reach of pursuit. Hunters might describe a fleeing animal as chaseable; sports commentators may call a score deficit chaseable; gamers talk about chaseable targets. A secondary, more specialized sense appears in legal and financial language, where a debt or claim described as chaseable can still be pursued through formal channels. Though understandable at first glance and transparently built from familiar parts, "chaseable" remains a comparatively rare word, absent from many standard dictionaries, and speakers often prefer phrases like "within reach" or "still catchable." Its clarity and vividness nonetheless make it useful when emphasis on the possibility of pursuit matters.
Capable of being chased or pursued.
"The rabbit froze, suddenly making itself chaseable again."
Most commonly used informally in hunting, sport, and gaming contexts.
(Of a debt, claim, or legal right) capable of being pursued or enforced through legal action.
"Despite the delay, the claim remained chaseable under the statute."
Specialized sense found mainly in legal and financial writing.
Though "chase" is one of English's most ancient action words, its adjective "chaseable" remains so rare it barely registers in major dictionaries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chaseable
"Chaseable" combines the verb "chase" with the suffix "-able," which derives from Latin "-abilis" through Old French. "Chase" came into Middle English from Old French "chacier" (variant of "cachier"), meaning to hunt or pursue, which itself traces back to Late Latin "captiare," a frequentative of "capere" (to take or seize). This makes "chaseable" a distant relative of words like "capture" and "captive," all descending from the same Latin root. The compound formation follows a long English tradition of attaching "-able" to verbs to indicate capability.
How chaseable is actually used
"Chaseable" is a relatively rare and informal-to-neutral term compared to its base verb "chase." It appears most often in hunting, sports, and gaming contexts describing targets or opponents, and occasionally in legal or financial language for claims that can still be pursued. It carries no strong connotation of formality either way.
Easily confused with chaseable
"Chaste" means morally pure or abstinent, while "chaseable" describes something capable of being chased or pursued.