To come or go after; proceed behind: Follow the usher to your seat.
To go after in or as if in pursuit: "The wrong she had done followed her and haunted her dream"(Katherine Anne Porter).
To keep under surveillance: followed the suspect around town.
To move along the course of; take: We followed a path to the shore.
To go in the direction of; be guided by: followed the sun westward across the plains; followed the signs to the zoo.
To act in agreement or compliance with; obey: follow the rules; follow one's instincts.
To keep to or stick to: followed the recipe; follow a diet.
To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.
To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.
To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
To move along the course of; take: We followed a path to the shore.
To go in the direction of; be guided by: followed the sun westward across the plains; followed the signs to the zoo.
To act in agreement or compliance with; obey: follow the rules; follow one's instincts.
To keep to or stick to: followed the recipe; follow a diet.
To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.
To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.
To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
To accept the guidance, command, or leadership of: follow a spiritual master; rebels who refused to follow their commander.
To adhere to; practice: followed family traditions.
To take as a model or precedent; imitate: followed my example and resigned.
To act in agreement or compliance with; obey: follow the rules; follow one's instincts.
To keep to or stick to: followed the recipe; follow a diet.
To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.
To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.
To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
To engage in (a trade or occupation); work at.
To come after in order, time, or position: Night follows day.
To bring something about at a later time than or as a consequence of: She followed her lecture with a question-and-answer period. The band followed its hit record with a tour.
To occur or be evident as a consequence of: Your conclusion does not follow your premise.
To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.
To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.
To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand: Do you follow my argument?
v.
intr.
To come, move, or take place after another person or thing in order or time.
To occur or be evident as a consequence; result: If you ignore your diet, trouble will follow.
To grasp the meaning or reasoning of something; understand.
n.
The act or an instance of following.
Games A billiards shot in which the cue ball is struck above center so that it follows the path of the object ball after impact.
Sports To carry a stroke to natural completion after hitting or releasing a ball or other object.
To carry an act, project, or intention to completion; pursue fully: followed through on her promise to reorganize the department.
To carry to completion; follow through on: followed up their recommendations with concrete proposals.
To increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of by further action: followed up her interview with an e-mail.
Phrasal Verb(s): follow along
To move or proceed in unison or in accord with an example: followed along with the song. follow through
Sports To carry a stroke to natural completion after hitting or releasing a ball or other object.
To carry an act, project, or intention to completion; pursue fully: followed through on her promise to reorganize the department.
follow up
To carry to completion; follow through on: followed up their recommendations with concrete proposals.
To increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of by further action: followed up her interview with an e-mail.
Idiom(s):
as follows
As will be stated next. Used to introduce a specified enumeration, explanation, or command.
Idiom(s):
follow (one's) nose
To move straight ahead or in a direct path.
Informal To be guided by instinct: had no formal training but became a success by following his nose.
Idiom(s):
follow suit
Games To play a card of the same suit as the one led.
To do as another has done; follow an example.
[Middle English folowen, from Old English folgian.]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to come after something or someone. Follow, which has the widest application, can refer to coming after in time or order, as a consequence or result, or by the operation of logic: Night follows day. He disregarded doctor's orders, and a relapse followed. Because she decries violence, it follows that she won't carry a gun. To succeed is to come next after another, especially in planned order determined by considerations such as rank, inheritance, or election: The heir apparent succeeded to the throne. Ensue usually applies to what is a consequence or logical development: After the government was toppled, chaos ensued. Result implies that what follows is caused by what has preceded: Failure to file an income tax return can result in a fine. Supervene, in contrast, refers to something that is often unexpected and that has little relation to what has preceded: "A bad harvest supervened" (Charlotte Brontë).
Usage Note: As follows (not as follow) is the established form of the idiom regardless of whether the noun that precedes it is singular or plural: The regulations are as follows.
about to be mentioned or specified; "the following items"
2.
immediately following in time or order; "the following day"; "next in line"; "the next president"; "the next item on the list"
3.
going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction; "the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem like a parade"; "tried to outrun the following footsteps" [ant: leading]
4.
in the desired direction; "a following wind"
noun
1.
a group of followers or enthusiasts
2.
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture; "the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit" [syn: pursuit]
Fol"low\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Followed; p. pr. & vb. n. Following.][OE. foluwen, folwen, folgen, AS. folgian, fylgean, fylgan; akin to D. volgen, OHG. folg?n, G. folgen, Icel. fylgja, Sw. f["o]lja, Dan. f["o]lge, and perh. to E. folk.]1. To go or come after; to move behind in the same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend. It waves me forth again; I'll follow it. --Shak. 2. To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. --Ex. xiv. 17. 3. To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow good advice. Approve the best, and follow what I approve. --Milton. Follow peace with all men. --Heb. xii. 14. It is most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to follow their appetites. --J. Edwards. 4. To copy after; to take as an example. We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we like not, than in defects resemble them whom we love. --Hooker. 5. To succeed in order of time, rank, or office. 6. To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference from a premise. 7. To watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument. He followed with his eyes the flitting shade. --Dryden. 8. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling. O, had I but followed the arts! --Shak. O Antony! I have followed thee to this. --Shak. Follow board (Founding), a board on which the pattern and the flask lie while the sand is rammed into the flask. --Knight. To follow the hounds, to hunt with dogs. To follow suit (Card Playing), to play a card of the same suit as the leading card; hence, colloquially, to follow an example set. To follow up, to pursue indefatigably. Syn: Syn.- To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany; succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain. Usage: - To Follow, Pursue. To follow (v.t.) denotes simply to go after; to pursue denotes to follow with earnestness, and with a view to attain some definite object; as, a hound pursues the deer. So a person follows a companion whom he wishes to overtake on a journey; the officers of justice pursue a felon who has escaped from prison.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [fol-oh-ing] Pronunciation Key 
