What does chasing mean?
Chasing is most familiar as the present participle of the verb "to chase," describing the act of pursuing someone or something with the intent to catch it — whether a child chasing butterflies, police chasing a suspect, or a figure figuratively chasing their dreams. In this figurative sense the word often suggests striving after something elusive or perhaps unattainable, which lends it a faintly poignant tone in phrases like "chasing rainbows." Separately, chasing names a refined metalworking technique in which an artisan decorates a surface by hammering or pressing designs into it from the front, creating relief without removing material — a method prized in silversmithing and jewelry since antiquity. These two senses share nothing historically but coexist comfortably because contexts make each unambiguous. The word's flexibility across literal pursuit, figurative ambition, and fine craftsmanship makes it a quietly versatile part of everyday English.
Present participle of chase: to run after or pursue someone or something in order to catch or overtake them; by extension, to strive persistently after a goal, opportunity, or ideal.
"She spent her twenties chasing a record deal that never quite arrived."
Often figurative when paired with abstract nouns such as dreams, fame, or success.
A decorative metalworking technique in which designs are raised or indented on a metal surface by hammering or engraving from the front, without removing any material.
"The silversmith's chasing on the teapot depicted intertwining vines."
Specialist term used chiefly in jewelry-making, silversmithing, and art-historical contexts; related work done from the reverse side is called repoussé.
The same word names both a dog racing after a rabbit and a silversmith coaxing flowers out of solid metal — chasing isn't always about running.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chasing
The verbal sense traces to Middle English "chacen," borrowed from Old French "chacier" (modern French "chasser"), meaning to hunt or pursue, which itself descends from the Late Latin "captiare," a frequentative form of "capere" ("to take, seize") — making "chase" a distant cousin of words like capture and captive. The metalworking sense has a different lineage: it comes from the French "chasé," past participle of "chasser" used in the sense of driving or working metal, ultimately linked to Latin "capsea/capsa" (a box), the root of "case." Both strands entered English by the late medieval period.
Related word forms
How chasing is actually used
As a verb form, chasing is neutral in register and common in everyday speech. In its figurative use — chasing dreams, chasing success — it often carries a slightly wistful connotation of pursuing something elusive. The metalworking sense belongs to specialist craft vocabulary and appears mostly in discussions of jewelry, silversmithing, and art history.
Easily confused with chasing
Chafing means rubbing skin or material until sore or worn, whereas chasing means pursuing someone or something (or, as a noun, decorating metal).