- follow
- [[t]fɒ̱loʊ[/t]]
♦follows, following, followed1) VERB If you follow someone who is going somewhere, you move along behind them because you want to go to the same place.
[V n prep/adv] We followed him up the steps into a large hall...
[V n] Please follow me, madam...
They took him into a small room and I followed. [Also V after n]
2) VERB If you follow someone who is going somewhere, you move along behind them without their knowledge, in order to catch them or find out where they are going.[V n] She realized that the Mercedes was following her...
[V n] I think we're being followed.
Syn:3) VERB If you follow someone to a place where they have recently gone and where they are now, you go to join them there.[V n to n] He followed Janice to New York, where she was preparing an exhibition.
4) VERB An event, activity, or period of time that follows a particular thing happens or comes after that thing, at a later time.[V n] ...the rioting and looting that followed the verdict...
[V n] I remember nothing else about the days following Daddy's death...
He was arrested in the confusion which followed...
Other problems may follow...
[V-ed] Eyewitnesses spoke of a noise followed by a huge red light.
Syn:come after5) VERB If you follow one thing with another, you do or say the second thing after you have done or said the first thing.[V n with n] Her first major role was in Martin Scorsese's `Goodfellas' and she followed this with a part in Spike Lee's `Jungle Fever'.
Follow up means the same as follow. V n P with n The book proved such a success that the authors followed it up with `The Messianic Legacy'.6) VERB If it follows that a particular thing is the case, that thing is a logical result of something else being true or being the case.[it V that] Just because a bird does not breed one year, it does not follow that it will fail the next...
If the explanation is right, two things follow...
[V from n] It is easy to see the conclusions described in the text follow from this equation.
7) VERB If you refer to the words that follow or followed, you are referring to the words that come next or came next in a piece of writing or speech.What follows is an eye-witness account...
[there V n] There followed a list of places where Hans intended to visit...
[be V-ed by n] General analysis is followed by five case studies.
8) VERB If you follow a path, route, or set of signs, you go somewhere using the path, route, or signs to direct you.[V n] If they followed the road, they would be certain to reach a village...
[V n] All we had to do was follow the map...
[V n prep/adv] I followed the signs to Metrocity.
9) VERB If something such as a path or river follows a particular route or line, it goes along that route or line.[V n] Our route follows the Pacific coast through densely populated neighbourhoods...
[V n] The Lot river follows a winding and tortuous course.
10) VERB If you follow something with your eyes, or if your eyes follow it, you watch it as it moves or you look along its route or course.[V n] Ann's eyes followed a police car as it drove slowly past.
11) VERB Something that follows a particular course of development happens or develops in that way.[V n] His release turned out to follow the pattern set by that of the other six hostages.
12) VERB If you follow advice, an instruction, or a recipe, you act or do something in the way that it indicates.[V n] Take care to follow the instructions carefully...
[V n] No two chefs follow the same recipe.
13) VERB If you follow what someone else has done, you do it too because you think it is a good thing or because you want to copy them.[V n] His admiration for the athlete did not extend to the point where he would follow his example in taking drugs...
Where eastern Germany goes the rest will surely follow.
14) VERB If you follow someone in what you do, you do the same thing or job as they did previously.[V n] He followed his father and became a surgeon...
[V n into n] Anni-Frid's son has followed her into the music business.
15) VERB If you are able to follow something such as an explanation or the story of a film, you understand it as it continues and develops.[V n] Can you follow the plot so far?...
I'm afraid I don't follow.
Syn:16) VERB If you follow something, you take an interest in it and keep informed about what happens.[V n] ...the millions of people who follow football because they genuinely love it...
[V n] She was following Laura's progress closely.
Syn:keep up with17) VERB A story, film, or television programme that follows someone or something is about their experiences over a particular period of time.[V n] The film follows the fortunes of two women.
18) VERB If you follow a score or written copy of a play, you read it while you listen to it being performed.[V n] ...an annotated version of Mozart's opera that allows the listener to follow the score.
19) VERB If you follow a particular religion or political belief, you have that religion or belief.[V n] `Do you follow any particular religion?' - `Yes, we're all Hindus.'
20) → See also following21) PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v You use as follows in writing or speech to introduce something such as a list, description, or explanation.This can be done if you proceed as follows.
22) PHRASE: PHR n You use followed by to say what comes after something else in a list or ordered set of things.Potatoes are still the most popular food, followed by white bread.
23) PHRASE: n PHR After mentioning one course of a meal, you can mention the next course by saying what you will have to follow or what there will be to follow.He decided on roast chicken and vegetables, with apple pie to follow.
Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
