Meaning of follow In English

• 0 to move behind someone or something and go where he, she, or it goes:

  • A dog followed us home.

  • She followed me into the kitchen.

  • He had the feeling he was being followed (= someone was going after him to catch him or see where he was going).

  • I could feel them following me with their eyes (= watching my movements closely).

  • Do your own thing, don't just follow the crowd (= do what everyone else does).

  • Follow the road for two miles, then turn left.

  • When one airline reduces its prices, the rest soon follow suit.

• 1 to happen or come after something:

  • We were not prepared for the events that followed (= happened next).

  • The book was delivered yesterday with a note saying the bill for it would follow in a day or two.

  • The meal consisted of spinach salad, followed by roast chicken (= with this as the next part).

  • She published a book of poems and followed it (up) with (= next produced) a novel.

  • The winners are as follows - Woods, Smith, and Cassidy.

• 2 to obey or to act as ordered by someone:

  • Follow the instructions on the back of the packet carefully.

  • I decided to follow her advice and go to bed early.

  • Muslims follow the teachings of the Koran.

• 3 to have a great interest in something or watch something closely:

  • He follows most sports avidly.

  • They followed her academic progress closely.

• 4 to happen as a result, or to be a likely result:

  • [ + that ] Just because I agreed last time, it doesn't necessarily follow that I will again.

• 5 to understand something as it is being said or done:

  • I'm sorry, I don't quite follow (you).

  • His lecture was complicated and difficult to follow.

• 6 to read the notes or words of a piece of music or writing at the same time as they are being played or said

• 7 If you follow a particular person on a social media website (= a website where people can publish their thoughts, photographs, information about themselves etc.), you choose to see everything that person posts (= publishes) on the website.

• 8 to move along after someone or something, or to move along a route or path:

  • [ T ] The dog followed us home.

  • [ I ] He drove ahead and we followed in our own car.

  • [ T ] Follow this road for the next two miles.

  • [ T ] She had the feeling she was being followed.

• 9 to happen after something else in order or time:

  • [ I ] We were not prepared for what followed.

  • [ T ] A reception will follow the meeting, so please stay.

• 10 to obey someone, or to act according to something:

  • Follow the instructions in taking the medicine.

  • I decided to follow her advice.

  • If you follow the signs, you will have no trouble finding the airport.

• 11 to understand:

  • He spoke so rapidly we could hardly follow what he said.

• 12 to be actively interested in something, or to give your attention to something:

  • Do you follow football?

  • We’ve followed her political career for many years.

• 13 to happen as a result, or to be a likely result:

  • [ + that clause ] Fuel prices for transporting goods have increased, so it would follow that those prices are getting passed on to customers.

• 14 to happen or come after something:

  • More mergers are likely to follow.

  • October's increase followed a 1.6% rise in output in September.

  • The bonds recovered after some initial selling following news of the proposed merger.

  • Government macro-economic policy encouraged a consumer boom followed by a deep recession.

• 15 to obey instructions or to do something according to a plan or someone's advice:

  • The shelves are easy to assemble if you follow the instructions carefully.

  • follow orders/advice By following our advice, clients should save at least £770 a year.

  • follow a policy/a procedure/guidelines At the enquiry into the crash, the airline said that normal procedure had been followed.

• 16 to watch something closely to see how it develops:

  • He works for a group of Wall Street analysts who follow internet stocks closely.

• 17 to do the same thing as someone:

  • They were the first to introduce online ordering, but other companies have been quick to follow.

  • follow sb's example/lead When the company announces its price increases, many of its competitors are expected to follow its lead.

• 18 to be sent or paid at a later date:

  • Your bank card will arrive first, and the PIN number will follow, in a separate envelope.

• 19 used to introduce a list of things:

  • Our main aims are as follows: 1. efficiency 2. value for money 3. quality.

• 20 to do a particular job:

  • The company has an open door policy to mature entrants who have followed alternative career paths.

• 21 to do the same as someone else:

  • We expect that fund managers will take a lead by coming out in favour of one of the banks, at which point undecided investors will follow suit.