If you’re wondering whether persue or pursue is correct, the answer is pursue. The spelling persue is incorrect in standard American English. Use pursue when you mean to follow someone, work toward a goal, or continue an activity.
For example, you might pursue a college degree, pursue your dreams, or pursue a promising business opportunity. Remembering the correct spelling will help you write more clearly in emails, school assignments, professional documents, and everyday messages.
Why Is Pursue the Correct Spelling?
Pursue is the standard spelling recognized by major English dictionaries, including Oxford and Cambridge. Both dictionaries define it as a verb associated with following someone or something, trying to achieve an objective, or continuing an activity.
Persue is a misspelling, not an accepted alternative spelling of the verb. Although readers may understand what you mean, using the incorrect form can distract from your message and make formal writing look less polished.
Compare these examples:
- Correct: She plans to pursue a career in medicine.
- Incorrect: She plans to persue a career in medicine.
The difference is the vowel after the initial p: the correct spelling uses ur, not er.
A Simple Way to Remember Pursue
Think of the word as p-u-r-s-u-e. Pay attention to the letters immediately after the first p: they are u and r.
You can also connect the word with the idea of pursuing a goal. When you pursue something, you keep going after it. Repeating the correct spelling alongside a familiar example can help you remember it.
What Does Pursue Mean?
The verb pursue has several related meanings. The exact meaning depends on the context.
1. To Work Toward a Goal
To pursue a goal means to make an effort to achieve something. The goal might involve education, a career, a personal ambition, or a long-term plan.
Examples:
- Maya decided to pursue a degree in psychology.
- He works hard to pursue his dream of becoming a published author.
- Our team will pursue new opportunities this year.
- She wants to pursue a career in graphic design.
In these sentences, pursue emphasizes continued effort toward a desired outcome.
2. To Follow or Chase Someone
Pursue can also mean to follow someone or something, especially when trying to catch up with it.
Examples:
- The police pursued the suspect through the city.
- The dog pursued the ball across the yard.
- The reporters pursued the story until they found more information.
This meaning is often used in descriptions of physical movement, investigations, and attempts to catch someone.
3. To Continue or Investigate Something
Another meaning of pursue is to continue an activity, examine an issue, or take further action.
Examples:
- We decided to pursue the matter with the customer service department.
- The researcher will pursue additional questions in the next study.
- They chose not to pursue legal action.
- She continues to pursue her interest in photography.
This usage is common in professional, academic, and legal writing.
These meanings share a central idea: making a continued effort to follow, achieve, or investigate something.
How to Use Pursue in a Sentence
The easiest way to understand a word is to see how it works in natural sentences. Here are additional examples of pursue in everyday American English.
In education:
- After graduating, Jordan plans to pursue a master’s degree.
- Students should have opportunities to pursue subjects that interest them.
In the workplace:
- The company intends to pursue a new marketing strategy.
- She decided to pursue a management position.
In personal life:
- He wants to pursue his passion for music.
- They encouraged their daughter to pursue her interests.
In formal writing:
- The committee will pursue further research into the issue.
- The organization plans to pursue its stated objectives.
Notice that pursue usually takes a direct object: you pursue a goal, a career, a plan, an opportunity, or a matter.
Pursue, Pursued, or Pursuing?
The word pursue changes form depending on the sentence. These forms are all correct, but their spellings must be kept straight.
| Form | When to use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pursue | Base form | I want to pursue my goals. |
| Pursues | Present tense with he, she, or it | She pursues every opportunity to learn. |
| Pursued | Simple past or past participle | He pursued a career in teaching. |
| Pursuing | Present participle or gerund | They are pursuing a new project. |
Pay particular attention to pursuing and pursued. Neither form keeps the misspelling persue.
- Incorrect: She is persuing a degree.
- Correct: She is pursuing a degree.
- Incorrect: He persued his dream for years.
- Correct: He pursued his dream for years.
Learning the base spelling makes these related forms easier to remember.
Pursue vs. Pursuit: What’s the Difference?
Although pursue and pursuit are related, they serve different grammatical purposes.
Pursue is a verb. It describes the action of following, seeking, or working toward something.
Examples:
- I want to pursue a new career.
- They pursue excellence in their work.
Pursuit is a noun. It refers to the act of pursuing something or an activity that someone spends time and energy doing.
Examples:
- She is in pursuit of a better opportunity.
- Reading is one of his favorite leisure pursuits.
A useful rule is to ask whether your sentence needs an action or a thing, activity, or concept. If you need an action, pursue may be right. If you need the noun, use pursuit.
Remember that pursuit is not a replacement for pursue in every sentence.
- Incorrect: He wants to pursuit a career in law.
- Correct: He wants to pursue a career in law.
What Are Some Synonyms for Pursue?
The best synonym depends on what you want to express. Several words can replace pursue in the right context.
| Synonym | Best used when you mean | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Follow | Go after someone or something | Follow the trail through the woods. |
| Chase | Try to catch someone or something | The child chased the rolling ball. |
| Seek | Look for or try to obtain something | We seek a better solution. |
| Work toward | Make progress toward a goal | She works toward a degree. |
| Continue | Keep doing something | He continued his research. |
| Investigate | Examine a question or matter | The team investigated the complaint. |
These words are not always interchangeable. For example, chase often suggests physical movement, while seek can emphasize looking for something. Work toward is especially useful when discussing long-term goals.
Choose the synonym that fits your sentence rather than replacing pursue automatically.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Here are some spelling and usage errors to watch for.
1. Writing persue instead of pursue
- Incorrect: I hope to persue my interests.
- Correct: I hope to pursue my interests.
2. Misspelling the -ing form
- Incorrect: She is persuing a promotion.
- Correct: She is pursuing a promotion.
3. Misspelling the past-tense form
- Incorrect: They persued every available option.
- Correct: They pursued every available option.
4. Confusing pursue with pursuit
- Incorrect: He plans to pursuit his dream.
- Correct: He plans to pursue his dream.
5. Trusting autocorrect without checking
Spell-checking tools can help identify errors, but they should not replace proofreading. If you are unsure whether to write persue or pursue, check a trusted dictionary or use the correct form in a sample sentence.
Final Answer: Persue or Pursue?
The correct spelling is pursue. Persue is a misspelling and should be avoided in standard American English.
Use pursue when talking about working toward a goal, following someone, continuing an activity, or investigating a matter. Remember its related forms: pursues, pursued, and pursuing.
For example: She plans to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.
When in doubt, remember the correct sequence: P-U-R-S-U-E.