Other forms: pursued, pursuing, pursues
To pursue is to chase after something — a goal, a career or a fleeing suspect. Pursue a career, pursue the matter, police pursued the car.
The abstract senses are much the commoner: pursue a claim, pursue an interest, pursue the question further. Not pursue it means to drop it. The physical sense belongs mainly to police reports. Note pursuit, the noun, as in in pursuit of and the pursuit of happiness; pursuant to, which is legal for in accordance with; and pursuer, which in Scots law means the person bringing a case.
1verbpursueTo work steadily towards a goal.
“She left her job to pursue her dream of becoming a chef.”
2verbchaseTo chase somebody or something.
“Police pursued the stolen car through the city centre.”
pursue is a following after.
Latin prosequi is pro-, forward, plus sequi, to follow — the same verb behind sequence, consequence and second. To pursue is to follow forward, and prosecute is the same Latin word borrowed a second time.
Proto-Indo-European
*per-
Latin
prōsequor
Anglo-Norman
pursure
Middle English
pursuen
English, today
pursue
From Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-Norman pursure, poursuire etc., from Latin prōsequor (though influenced by persequor). a doublet of prosecute.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Sharper Verbs