What does chevied mean?
Chevied is the past tense of the verb 'chevy', an informal chiefly British term meaning to chase or pursue someone or something persistently, or to harass them with continual demands and nagging. A person who feels chevied has been hustled about, hurried, or badgered — often by bureaucrats, creditors, or overzealous pursuers. The phrase 'chevied from pillar to post' captures this sense of being driven restlessly from one place or demand to another. The word carries a slightly comic, harried connotation rather than a menacing one, evoking scurrying activity more than genuine danger. Its spelling varies considerably between 'chevy', 'chivy', and 'chivvy', and the doubled-v forms are common. Though fading from everyday speech, it survives in journalism and fiction as a colourful alternative to plainer words like 'pestered' or 'hounded', lending a touch of traditional British idiom to descriptions of pursuit and harassment.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'chevy')Past tense of 'chevy' (also spelled 'chivy'): to chase or pursue persistently; to harass or pester someone with repeated demands or nagging.
- To have been chased or pursued persistently.
- To have been harassed, pestered, or nagged with repeated demands.
"The reporters chevied the minister for a statement all afternoon."
"The fox was chevied across half the county before it finally escaped."
"Exhausted by endless paperwork requests, she felt chevied from pillar to post by the bureaucracy."
Before it meant pestering people, 'chevy' may have echoed 'Chevy Chase' — not the actor, but the old ballad about a famous border raid.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chevied
The verb 'chevy' first appeared in English in the nineteenth century, though its exact origin is uncertain. One common suggestion links it to the noun 'chevy', meaning a chase, which itself derives from the medieval ballad 'The Ballad of Chevy Chase', commemorating a battle near the Cheviot Hills on the Anglo-Scottish border. The word later blended with or developed alongside the variant 'chivy' (often written 'chivvy'), which became the dominant form in modern usage.
Related word forms
How chevied is actually used
Informal and somewhat old-fashioned or literary in tone; more common in British English than American. The variant spellings 'chivy'/'chivvied' are at least as frequent as 'chevy'/'chevied'.
Easily confused with chevied
'Chevy' is the familiar shortened form of the car brand Chevrolet, whereas 'chevied' is the past tense of a verb meaning to chase or pester.
'Chided' means scolded or rebuked verbally, while 'chevied' means physically chased or persistently hassled.