pursue

/pəˈsjuː/

//pəˈsjuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pursue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pursue” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,624. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,624
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pursue · pursue · English

pursue · rank #4,624 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,624
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peoples

Nearest frequency peer: peoples (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pursue”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pursue” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

pursue vs pursuit
71% similar
pursue vs pursued
86% similar
pursue vs pure
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for pursue
PropertyValue
Headwordpursue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pəˈsjuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,624
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pursue”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).pursuelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “peoples” (#4,623), “realise” (#4,625), “pays” (#4,622). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pursue” is #4,624. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around pursue (IPA /pəˈsjuː/), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,624 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for pursue, with forms such as "ppursue", "prusue", and "purrsue". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "pursuit", "pursued", "pure", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-Norman pursure, poursuire etc., from Latin prōsequor (though influenced by persequor). Doublet of prosecute. The correct English form is pursue, spelled P-U-R-S-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase.
  2. 2
    To follow, travel down (a particular way, course of action etc.).
  3. 3
    To aim for, go after (a specified objective, situation etc.).
  4. 4
    To participate in (an activity, business etc.); to practise, follow (a profession).
  5. 5
    To act as a legal prosecutor.
  6. 6
    To continue; to carry on.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pursue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. pursue one's dreams
  2. The wicked flee when no man purſueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.

Etymology

From Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-Norman pursure, poursuire etc., from Latin prōsequor (though influenced by persequor). Doublet of prosecute.

This word in other languages

perseguir(Español)poursuivre(Français)verfolgen(Deutsch)procurar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppursue
  • prusue
  • purrsue
  • purseu
  • purssue
  • puruse
  • pusrue
  • uprsue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pursue - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ppursue1prusue2purrsue1purseu2purssue1puruse2pusrue2uprsue2
Edit distance from "pursue"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pursue"?
"pursue" is spelled P-U-R-S-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈsjuː/.
What does "pursue" mean?
As a verb, "pursue" means: To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase.
What words are commonly confused with "pursue"?
"pursue" is commonly confused with "pursuit", "pursued", "pure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pursue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pursue" is /pəˈsjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pursue"?
From Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-Norman pursure, poursuire etc., from Latin prōsequor (though influenced by persequor). Doublet of prosecute. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pursue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ruined#4,631mutual#4,616terror#4,637waited#4,642

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

offense8 variantsstays8 variantsbrick8 variantsautumn8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list