follow */*/*/

UK [ˈfɒləʊ] / US [ˈfɑloʊ] verb
Word forms "follow":
present tense I/you/we/they follow he/she/it follows present participle following past tense followed past participle followed

1)

a) [intransitive/transitive] to walk, drive etc behind someone, when you are going in the same direction as them

Ralph set off down the hill, and I followed.

follow someone up/down/to/through/into etc:

Jim opened the door and followed me down the corridor.

b) [transitive] to walk, drive etc closely behind someone in order to watch them

I felt sure that someone was following me.

I think we're being followed.

2) [intransitive/transitive] to happen or come after something else

The six o'clock news follows shortly.

the days/weeks/years etc that followed:

In the weeks that followed the situation was very tense.

be followed by something:

The wedding will be followed by a reception.

We had soup followed by roast lamb with spring vegetables.

to follow (= available to be eaten next):

There's apple pie and cream to follow.

there follows something:

There followed seven months of hard negotiations.

a) to happen as a direct result of something else

Wild celebrations followed the announcement.

They were warned that if the rebels did not surrender, severe reprisals would follow.

b) [transitive] if you follow one thing with another, you do the second after you have done the first

She followed the success of her first book with another remarkable novel.

3)

a) [transitive] to watch where someone or something is going

His eyes followed the car to the end of the drive.

b) to listen carefully to what someone is saying

He followed every word of the trial.

4)

a) [transitive] to obey an order, or to do what someone has advised you to do

You must follow a few simple guidelines.

follow someone's advice/suggestion:

She refused to follow our advice.

follow directions/instructions/orders/rules:

The manufacturer's instructions should always be followed carefully.

b) [transitive] to go where signs and directions tell you to go

We followed Joe's directions and found the house easily.

Follow the signs for Lancaster.

5)

a) [transitive] to go along a road, river etc in the same direction as it does

Follow the road down the hill into the village.

b) to go along a path parallel to something

The road follows the old stream bed.

6) [transitive] to be interested in the progress or development of someone or something

My father's followed the same football team for 40 years.

Have you been following the election campaign?

7) [transitive, often in negatives or questions] to understand something, especially something long or complicated

I couldn't follow what Professor Hope was saying.

I'm sorry, I don't quite follow you.

easy/difficult to follow:

Their system is pretty easy to follow.

8) [intransitive/transitive] to do the same thing that someone else has done

What one child does, others will often follow.

follow someone into something (= decide to do the same job as someone else):

She decided not to follow her mother into banking.

follow someone's example/lead:

Canada may follow the EU's example by banning these products.

Other students followed her lead and boycotted lectures.

follow suit (= do what someone else has done):

They began to offer takeaway food, and other restaurants followed suit.

9) [transitive] if you follow a profession or way of life, you do that job or spend your life in that way

10) [transitive] to believe what a religion or system of ideas teaches and to do the things that it tells you to do

I follow the teachings of the Buddha.

those who follow Christianity

11) [transitive] to happen according to a particular pattern or course

All the murders have followed the same grisly pattern.

Up to now, ozone losses have tended to follow a two-year cycle.

12) [intransitive] if something follows, it must be true because of something else that is true

follow from:

Two important implications follow from this.

it follows (that):

It does not necessarily follow that all criminals come from deprived backgrounds.

13) [transitive] to deal with the progress or development of someone or something in a book, film, or television programme

The film follows the adventures of an ant called Flick.

14) [transitive] if you follow someone on the online social networking service Twitter, you receive the tweets that they send

Take a look at our list of the 40 people you should follow on Twitter.

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follow the crowd/herd — to do something because most other people are doing it

follow (hard) on the heels of something — to happen very soon after something else

The factory closure follows hard on the heels of several others.

- as follows

- follow your nose

Phrasal verbs:

- follow around

- follow on from

- follow through

- follow up

See:

footstep