I run after a male pal (5)
I believe the answer is:
amigo
'pal' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'i run after a male' is the wordplay.
'run' becomes 'go' (synonyms).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'i'+'go'='igo'
'a'+'m'='am'
'igo' put after 'am' is 'AMIGO'.
(Other definitions for amigo that I've seen before include "Mexican's mate" , "Mexican friend" , "Spanish word meaning friend" , "friend from Barcelona" , "Friend in Spanish-speaking areas" .)