Pursue - pursuit

Non-native speakers of English sometimes confuse these two words, using pursuit when they should use pursue. Native speakers rarely confuse them.

• 'To pursue' is a verb. It labels something that you do. The broad meaning is 'to follow'.
• Pursuit is a noun derived from the verb 'to pursue', and so broadly means 'the following' in a verbal sense. (non-native speakers may want to consult the following in its adjectival sense.) Pursuit has three main strands of meaning.
  • First, it is used as a non-count abstract noun which names the action of the verb 'to pursue': "I have just finished my pursuit of this word in OED", or "The dogs were in hot pursuit of a cat". It can mean 'following up', "In pursuit of justice, he went to the (law)courts."
  • Second, it means 'trying to do something', "The action of seeking, or striving to obtain, attain, or accomplish something; search; endeavour, attempt (to do something)" (OED). "The pursuit of the 'philosopher's stone', of making gold from lead, brought him to bankruptcy", and "You may hear men talk as if the pursuit of wealth was the business of life" (Newman, cited in OED).
  • Third, it is an occupation, either as a job or as a hobby . In the plural, 'pursuits', it often means hobbies, or pastimes. 'Country pursuits' meant the sports of the countryside - hunting, fishing and shooting - while 'lady-like pursuits' were those elegant accomplishments deemed suitable for females of the leisured classes: sewing, playing the piano, and painting in water-colour, for example.