chase the dragon
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to pursue a elusive or addictive goal
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
đuổi theo một mục tiêu khó nắm bắt hoặc gây nghiện
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to chase a mythical creature
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He's been chasing the dragon of wealth and status his whole life
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “chase the dragon” mean?
to pursue a elusive or addictive goal Literally: to chase a mythical creature
Is “chase the dragon” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.