pursuit of happiness

collocation in English

meaningsofpursuitandhappiness

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withpursuitorhappiness.
pursuit
noun
uk
/pəˈsjuːt/us
/pɚˈsuːt/
an activity that you spend time doing, usually when you are ...
See more atpursuit
happiness
noun[U]
uk
/ˈhæp.i.nəs/us
/ˈhæp.i.nəs/
the feeling of ...
See more athappiness

(Definition ofpursuitandhappinessfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofpursuit of happiness

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
The outcome, though based on the legislator delivering minimal conditions for thepursuitofhappiness, would nonetheless be practical and realizable.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The natural progress of human improvement reflected striving by individuals for higher levels of virtue, not thepursuitofhappinessor material goods.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Political liberty came to be defined in terms of individual self-interest: the defence of property and privatepursuitofhappiness, rather than public service or social purpose.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Is a rich man, merely because he is a rich man, not to have life and liberty and thepursuitofhappiness?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Thepursuitofhappiness, though good governments will avoid impeding it, is nevertheless again an individual pursuit.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
And there exists life, liberty, and the means to thepursuitofhappiness, to such a degree that they come crowding in whenever they can.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There can be no right to liberty or to thepursuitofhappinessif first there is no right to life.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
And among those rights are life, liberty and thepursuitofhappiness.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Life comes before liberty, and certainly before thepursuitofhappiness, whatever that means precisely.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
But it is also a place of decent human beings, seeking to live with dignity and inpursuitofhappinessand peace.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
But the main threat to life and thepursuitofhappinessin this country does not come from the police.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
The first civil liberty is the right to life and thepursuitofhappiness.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Does he want to claim that their system of social security denies their citizens life, liberty, and thepursuitofhappiness?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It is a test case of the right of human beings to embark on the most ancient and instinctive of all their callings—thepursuitofhappiness.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
We are far from thepursuitofhappinesswhich the most perceptive politicians of the late eighteenth century regarded as an inalienable right of human beings.
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
People who have served prison sentences should not be deprived for the rest of their lives of the right to life, liberty and thepursuitofhappiness.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Thepursuitofhappinessand the greatest good for the greatest number starts with the one thing that frightens us all; are we in good health or not?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
After food, shelter and basic healthcare, the quality of life and the plural excitements of our multicultural society are essential to liberty and thepursuitofhappiness.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Among these are life, liberty and thepursuitofhappiness, but after trampling over sixteen million of your brothers.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofpursuit
Go to the definition ofhappiness
See other collocations withpursuit
See other collocations withhappiness