# chaser

Pronunciation: US say "CHAY-ser" /ˈt͡ʃeɪsɚ/; UK/AUS say "CHAY-suh" /ˈt͡ʃeɪsə/

## Noun

1. A person, animal or thing that chases someone or something.
   - Simple: Someone or something that runs after another, trying to catch it.
   - _In freeze tag, anyone touched by the chaser must stand still until a teammate frees them._
   - _The fox doubled back through the hedge, and its chasers lost the scent._
2. A drink taken right after another of a different kind, such as a beer after a shot of liquor. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A different drink you have right after another one, like a beer after a shot of strong alcohol.
   - _The bartender lined up shots of vodka, each with a small pickle-juice chaser._
   - _My grandfather took his rye neat and never bothered with chasers._
3. A horse trained to race in steeplechases.
   - Simple: A racehorse trained to jump fences in steeplechase races.
   - _The gelding was only a moderate flat racer but became a top-class chaser once he learned to jump._
   - _The trainer's best chaser will be aimed at the Gold Cup in the spring._
4. Someone sexually drawn to people with a particular trait who actively pursues them as partners, usually in a fetishistic way.
   - Simple: Someone attracted to sex partners with one particular feature, who seeks them out, often as a fetish.
   - _Within a week of posting her profile, she could pick out the chasers, who asked about her weight before they asked her name._
   - _The forum for trans women keeps a pinned thread on how to spot a chaser before agreeing to a first date._
6. One of a row of neighboring light bulbs that switch on and off in sequence so that the light appears to move.
   - Simple: One of a row of lights that turn on and off one after another, so the light seems to run along.
   - _A ring of chaser lights circled the marquee, flashing in turn so the glow seemed to race around the theater's name._
   - _The carnival ride was outlined in chaser lights that sent a ripple of color up each arm._
5. A gun mounted at the bow or stern of a ship, used to fire at an enemy vessel during a chase.
   - Simple: A gun at the front or back of a ship, used to fire at another ship during a chase.
   - _As the privateer closed the gap, the frigate's stern chasers opened fire on her rigging._
   - _A single long gun served as a bow chaser, the only weapon aboard that could bear on a ship dead ahead._
7. A craftsperson who decorates metal by engraving or embossing designs on it.
   - Simple: A worker who decorates metal by cutting or pressing patterns into it.
   - _The chaser worked the design into the brass with small punches and a light hammer._
   - _Her grandfather worked as a chaser in a silver factory, decorating trays and candlesticks._
8. A cutting tool with several teeth that forms screw threads, used in a lathe or fitted in a die head, or a similar tool for cleaning and repairing damaged threads.
   - Simple: A tool with several teeth that cuts the threads of screws and bolts, or cleans and fixes damaged threads.
   - _Before reassembling the engine, she cleaned the corroded threads in the block with a chaser._
   - _The die head holds a set of four chasers that cut the whole thread in one pass._

## Noun

9. A horse that has been bred and trained to carry a rider in the hunt; a hunter. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A horse that is raised and trained for hunting.
10. A piece of music played after a show while the audience is leaving. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Music played at the end of a show while people leave.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In Quidditch, or in its real-life version, a player whose job is to pass the quaffle and score goals with it.
- (noun) A guard who watches military prisoners while they carry out fatigue duty, or a prison guard in general.
- (noun) A person who seeks out sexual partners who have HIV in order to become infected with the virus.
- (noun) A dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, especially one of the genus Libellula, the usual British name for these broad-bodied species.
- (noun) In logging, a worker who follows or receives logs as they are hauled in, signalling the engine operator and unhooking the chokers at the landing.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4, 6, 9–10** — Old French chacier ("to chase, hunt") gave chaceür, which Middle English borrowed as chaser, chacer or chasour, and modern English inherited the word. Later senses come from chase ("pursue") + -er or were influenced by it. Chasseur is a doublet.
**Meanings 5, 7–8** — From chase ("to groove; to decorate metal") + -er.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chaser (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).