noun
pursuer; pursuing party; posse
Refers to a person or group actively chasing or searching for someone, often in a dramatic or historical context.
追手が迫っている。
The pursuers are closing in.
彼は追手を撒くために路地に隠れた。
He hid in an alley to shake off his pursuers.
追跡者 is a more formal or technical term for a tracker or pursuer, while 追手 is more literary or dramatic.
追っ手 is a variant with a geminate consonant, often used in similar contexts but may sound more colloquial or emphatic.
Compound of 追い (chase) and 手 (person), literally 'chasing hand/person'.