What does chaser mean?
Chaser is a noun denoting someone or something that chases — a pursuer in the most literal sense, as in a storm chaser tracking violent weather or an ambulance chaser seeking clients at accident scenes. The word has also developed several figurative uses: in informal American English, a chaser is a milder beverage, such as water or beer, swallowed immediately after a shot of strong liquor to take the edge off its taste. By extension, writers have used chaser for any brief, lighter remark that follows something weighty, taking the sting out of it. The word derives from the verb chase, which entered Middle English from Old French chacier, ultimately from Latin captare, meaning to hunt or strive to catch. Its connotations vary by context: neutral or even admiring in phrases like storm chaser, but pejorative in ambulance chaser. Chaser remains a vivid, concrete word whose imagery of pursuit gives it energy across all its senses.
One who or that which chases; a pursuer.
"As a dedicated fox chaser, he spent weekends following hounds across the countryside."
Often found as the second element of compounds: storm chaser, ambulance chaser, plane chaser.
A mild drink, such as water or beer, consumed immediately after a shot of strong liquor.
"She ordered a bourbon neat, with beer as a chaser."
Informal; chiefly North American usage.
Regular plural; used both for people who pursue and for drinks taken after shots.
"The bartender lined up three whiskeys with their chasers on the bar."
In American bars, the 'chaser' is so named because it literally chases the shot of whiskey down your throat — a drinking ritual with roots in centuries-old slang.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chaser
Chaser comes from the verb chase, formed from the agent suffix -er. Chase entered Middle English from Old French chacier (modern French chasser), meaning to hunt or pursue, which itself developed from Late Latin captare, a frequentative form of capere, 'to take or seize.' English speakers began forming chaser in the sixteenth century to mean simply 'one who chases'; the drinking sense appeared later, likely in nineteenth-century American slang, drawing on the same image of pursuit — the second drink chasing the first.
Related word forms
How chaser is actually used
The 'drink' sense is informal and chiefly North American. The figurative sense of a lightening remark is literary or dated. Compound forms like 'storm chaser' and 'ambulance chaser' are common fixed expressions — the latter is derogatory.
Easily confused with chaser
A chaise is a light open carriage or a long reclining chair (chaise longue), whereas a chaser is one who pursues or a drink taken after another.