1.
pursuer; chaser; search party
A person or group chasing after someone who is fleeing. Often used in historical, literary, or dramatic contexts involving fugitives or escapes.
追っ手が迫ってきた。
The pursuers were closing in.
追っ手をまいて山に逃げ込んだ。
He shook off the pursuers and fled into the mountains.
藩は脱走した侍を捕らえるために、すぐに追っ手を差し向けた。
The domain immediately dispatched pursuers to capture the escaped samurai.
Refers to those who chase a fugitive or escapee. Common in historical fiction, period dramas, and action narratives.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 追っ手をかける (to send pursuers after)
- 追っ手を差し向ける (to dispatch pursuers)
- 追っ手をまく (to shake off pursuers)
- 追っ手から逃げる (to flee from pursuers)
The word has a dramatic, literary quality and appears frequently in 時代劇 (period dramas) and historical novels.