Follow | Mean of follow in English Dictionary

/ˈfɑːloʊ/

• Verb
• to go or come after or behind (someone or something)
1. She followed us into the kitchen.
2. The dog followed the children home.
3. The exit is right this way. Just follow me.
4. The children went home and the dog followed behind.
5. If one sheep goes through the gate, the rest will follow.
• to go after or behind (someone) secretly and watch to find out what happens
1. He hired a private detective to follow his wife everywhere. [=to secretly find out where she went and what she did]
2. follow a suspect
3. I think that someone is following us. = I think we're being followed.
• to come after (something) in time or place or as part of a series
1. Spring follows winter. = Winter is followed by spring.
2. The number 15 follows 14.
3. Her accident was followed by a long period of recovery.
4. First came the student speeches, and the presentation of awards followed.
5. (formal) The war ended. There followed [=then came; then there was] a long period of rebuilding.

• to have or do something after (something else)
1. I followed my dinner with a liqueur. [=I had a liqueur after dinner]
2. The actor followed his success as Othello with a triumph as Macbeth.
• to happen after and as a result of (something)
1. Rioting followed the unjust verdict.
2. If you work hard, success will/must surely follow.
• to be true or seem to be true because of something
1. From the evidence given, several conclusions follow. = Several conclusions follow from the evidence given. [=we can make several conclusions based on the evidence given]
2. From the evidence given, it follows that the accused is guilty.
3. Just because he's done some bad things, does/must it follow that he's a bad person? [=does it mean that he is a bad person?]
• to be guided by (something)
1. You should follow [=obey] your conscience.
2. follow your instincts
3. follow my advice
4. She must learn to follow instructions.
5. We must follow the evidence wherever it leads.
6. You should follow her example. = You should follow the example she set. [=you should do what she did]
• to do the same thing as (someone)
1. She followed her father (by going) into medicine. = She followed her father by becoming a doctor.
• to move forward on (a road, a path, etc.)
1. Follow that path, and you will come to a log cabin.
2. You should follow the main highway until you see signs for the stadium.
3. His friends all went to college, but he chose to follow a different path. [=to do something different]
4. Do recessions follow a predictable cycle/pattern?
• to be on or next to (something) for a distance
1. The path follows the river pretty closely.
2. The road follows the curve of the hill.
• to keep your eyes or attention on (something)
1. Follow the bouncing ball.
• to give close attention to what happens in (something)
1. He followed her career with interest.
2. follow football
3. The book follows his political career from its humble beginnings to his election as president.
• to be a fan of (a team)
1. He follows Manchester United.
• to understand the sense or logic of (something or someone)
1. I found it hard to follow the twists and turns of the movie's complicated plot.
2. I'm sorry—I don't follow your argument/reasoning. = I'm sorry—I don't follow you. [=I don't understand you]
3. I'm sorry—I don't follow. [=I don't understand]
• someone or something that has been so successful that it is very difficult for the person or thing coming next to be as good
1. Yesterday's thrilling victory will be a tough act to follow.
• to go wherever (someone) goes
1. The little boy followed his mother around all day.
• to play a card of the same suit (such as hearts or spades) as the card that was played just before
1. Jane played a spade, and Roger followed suit.
• to do the same thing that someone else has just done
1. His brother went to medical school, and he followed suit.
2. After one airline lowers their fares, the other airlines usually follow suit.
• to complete an activity or process that has been started
1. He always starts the school year off studying and working hard, but he doesn't follow through. [=he doesn't continue to study and work hard]
2. He doesn't follow his good intentions through. [=although he makes plans to do things, he doesn't actually do them]
3. He doesn't follow through on his good intentions.
4. We feared they would follow through on/with their threat. [=we feared that they would do what they threatened to do]
• to keep your arms, legs, etc., moving after you hit or kick a ball
1. You should follow through on your backhand.
2. Don't forget to follow through when you putt.
• to follow (something) with something similar, related, or additional
1. He followed up his early findings with another study.
2. After you submit your job application, you should follow it up by making a phone call.
3. Her first book was a big success, and she followed up with another best seller.
• to try to get more information about (something)
1. The police followed up (on) the leads.
2. The references in the book were too vague to follow up.
• to do something in response to (something)
1. Police followed up the complaints with several arrests.
2. He complained several times, but the police never followed up.
3. He says that the police failed to follow up on his complaints.
• to go in a straight or obvious course
1. Just follow your nose until you get there; you can't miss it.
• to proceed without a definite plan
1. You don't need my advice—just follow your nose.
• to go toward the place where a smell is coming from
1. I followed my nose to the kitchen, where dinner was cooking.