I. ˈfä(ˌ)lō, -_lə, often -_ləw+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English folwen, folowen, from Old English folgian; akin to Old English fylgan to follow, Old Frisian folgia, fulgia, Old Saxon folgōn, Old High German folgēn, Old Norse fylgja, and perhaps to Welsh ôl mark, track, ol af last, Cornish ōl mark, trace, track
transitive verb
1. : to go, proceed, or come after : move behind over the same path or course often as an attendant or retainer
the bravest man I ever knew followed me up San Juan Hill — Theodore Roosevelt
2.
a. : to go after in pursuit or in an effort to overtake
fraud statutes, the principle of which is to follow and punish the security swindler under the criminal law — Frank Parker
b. : to seek to attain : strive after
yearning in desire to follow knowledge — Alfred Tennyson
3.
a. : to accept as authority : take as leader or master
we have forsaken all, and followed thee — Mt 19:27 (Authorized Version)
b. : to act in accordance with : obey
follow directions
follow a policy
c. : to yield to and obey (the guidance of a dancing partner)
the girl must learn to follow the man's lead
4.
a. : to copy after : take as an example : take after : imitate
the new building follows the facades and roof lines of the original buildings — Maxwell Mays
b. : to move or change in constant relation to : correlate with
school enrollment follows the birthrate
the condition of the ionosphere has followed the course of the sun's activity — London Calling
5.
a. : to walk or proceed along (as a road or course)
follow a path through the woods
b. : to engage in (a profession, trade, or calling) : pursue
those who follow the sea
a district where cotton raising is widely followed
6.
a. : to attend the funeral of
followed his poor body to the grave
b. dialect : escort , accompany
he followed her home from the party
7.
a. : to come or take place after in time, sequence, or order
a juggling act followed the singer
b. : to cause to be followed : place in sequence : furnish with a successor
followed dinner with a liqueur
followed a fine first novel with an even finer one
8.
a. : to come about or take place as a result, effect, or natural consequence of : ensue after
the Nemesis that attends upon human pride, the vengeance that follows crime — G.L.Dickinson
b. : to come to be existent or present at a place in consequence or as a result of
the flag often follows trade
houses followed the factories
9.
a. : to watch steadily (as a receding object) : keep the eyes fixed upon (something in motion)
followed the ball over the fence
b. : to keep the mind upon (something in progress)
follow a speech
follow a play
c. : to attend to the successive members or stages of
follow a magazine serial
: keep abreast of
followed the developments in his field
his friends followed his career with interest
d. : to understand the logical force of (as an argument or line of thought) : keep up with
I don't quite follow you
intransitive verb
1. : to go or come after a person or thing in place, time, or sequence
if one sheep goes through the gate the rest will follow
2. : to result or occur as a consequence, an effect from a cause, or as valid inference from a premise
as they were rich but it did not follow that they had not made their money honestly — Margaret Deland
Synonyms:
succeed , ensue , supervene : follow is a general term often interchangeable with succeed or ensue. succeed suggests following another in an office, rank, title, position, or role
George III succeeded George II
George III succeeded to the throne after George II
It is likely to suggest a fixed, predictable, or likely order, although it does not always do so
simplicity of concept succeeds complexity of calculation — E.T.Bell
the anxieties of common life began soon to succeed to the alarms of romance — Jane Austen
ensue means to follow; it is likely to indicate following as a consequence or plausible concomitant and is unlikely to be used with completely unusual or unexpected developments
the riot which ensued on that damp evening — T.B.Costain
if a leech is pulled off … he is liable to leave his jaws in the wound, and blood poisoning may ensue — C.S.Forester
supervene indicates a taking place after or during something else of an additional, unlooked-for, unpredictable development which may change or counter expectations
two worlds, two antagonistic ideals, here in evidence before him. Could a third condition supervene, to mend their discord — Walter Pater
with this undue elevation of spirits had supervened an entire oblivion or contempt of those undefined apprehensions — Sheridan Le Fanu
Synonyms:
pursue , chase , tag , trail , tail : follow is the general term meaning to come behind after one in his path. It may be used to indicate performance of this action in any way or with any motive from loyal devotion of a retainer to a leader to malevolent intent to harm
what was it that made men follow Oliver Cromwell and take at his hands that which they would not receive from any of his contemporaries — S.M.Crothers
my man that shall … do all a hunter can to trace and follow and find and catch and crucify … all your crew — Robert Browning
pursue indicates a persistent, determined, continuing following after in order to overtake or attain
as lean dogs pursue some struck and sobbing fawn — P.B.Shelley
he pursues his object with a pertinacity and ingenuity that does credit to his understanding — S.M.Crothers
to pursue every tangle of thought to its final unravelment — A.N.Whitehead
chase implies a rapid, active quest after something in flight or, sometimes, activity designed to put to flight
and watch the fearless chamois-hunter chase his prey through tracts abrupt of desolate space — William Wordsworth
the last defeated warrior was chased upon a reservation — R.A.Billington
tag , an informal word, may suggest close following, usually without any intention, especially malevolent intention, to overtake or injure
they tagged happily after the mayor's secretary down the city-hall corridors — Time
trail indicates a close following of another's footsteps or track
I tracked him, as I have trailed Coleridge, into almost every section of eight floors of a great library — J.L.Lowes
In intransitive uses it may lack suggestions of intentness and connote aimless or casual following
watch the miners troop home — small black figures trailing slowly in gangs across the white field — D.H.Lawrence
tail , an informal term, suggests intent, stealthy following in order to observe but usually not to overtake or capture
sometimes tailed … by Army, Navy, or FBI cars — Time
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- as follows
- follow copy
- follow one's nose
- follow suit
- follow the hounds
- follow the string
II. noun
( -s )
1. : the act or process of following
2.
a. : a stroking technique used by a billiard player consisting of striking the cue ball above its center ; also : the forward spin so imparted to the ball
b. : follow shot
3. : follow-up 4