Definitions for follow
ˈfɒl oʊfol·low

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. follow(verb)

   to travel behind, go after, come after

   "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum"

2. postdate, follow(verb)

   be later in time

   "Tuesday always follows Monday"

3. follow, fall out(verb)

   come as a logical consequence; follow logically

   "It follows that your assertion is false"; "the theorem falls out nicely"

4. follow, travel along(verb)

   travel along a certain course

   "follow the road"; "follow the trail"

5. comply, follow, abide by(verb)

   act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes

   "He complied with my instructions"; "You must comply or else!"; "Follow these simple rules"; "abide by the rules"

6. follow, come after(verb)

   come after in time, as a result

   "A terrible tsunami followed the earthquake"

7. follow, conform to(verb)

   behave in accordance or in agreement with

   "Follow a pattern"; "Follow my example"

8. follow(verb)

   be next

   "Mary plays best, with John and Sue following"

9. adopt, follow, espouse(verb)

   choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies, strategies or plans

   "She followed the feminist movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals"

10. follow(verb)

    to bring something about at a later time than

    "She followed dinner with a brandy"; "He followed his lecture with a question and answer period"

11. take after, follow(verb)

    imitate in behavior; take as a model

    "Teenagers follow their friends in everything"

12. trace, follow(verb)

    follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of something

    "We must follow closely the economic development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress"

13. watch, observe, follow, watch over, keep an eye on(verb)

    follow with the eyes or the mind

    "Keep an eye on the baby, please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed the men with the binoculars"

14. succeed, come after, follow(verb)

    be the successor (of)

    "Carter followed Ford"; "Will Charles succeed to the throne?"

15. play along, accompany, follow(verb)

    perform an accompaniment to

    "The orchestra could barely follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano"

16. keep up, keep abreast, follow(verb)

    keep informed

    "He kept up on his country's foreign policies"

17. come, follow(verb)

    to be the product or result

    "Melons come from a vine"; "Understanding comes from experience"

18. follow(verb)

    accept and follow the leadership or command or guidance of

    "Let's follow our great helmsman!"; "She followed a guru for years"

19. follow(verb)

    adhere to or practice

    "These people still follow the laws of their ancient religion"

20. be, follow(verb)

    work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function

    "He is a herpetologist"; "She is our resident philosopher"

21. surveil, follow, survey(verb)

    keep under surveillance

    "The police had been following him for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in the bombing"

22. pursue, follow(verb)

    follow in or as if in pursuit

    "The police car pursued the suspected attacker"; "Her bad deed followed her and haunted her dreams all her life"

23. follow(verb)

    grasp the meaning

    "Can you follow her argument?"; "When he lectures, I cannot follow"

24. stick to, stick with, follow(verb)

    keep to

    "Stick to your principles"; "stick to the diet"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. follow(Verb)

   To go or come after in physical space.

   Follow that car!

2. follow(Verb)

   To go or come after in a sequence.

   B follows A in the alphabet.

3. follow(Verb)

   To carry out in accordance to (orders, instructions, etc).

   Follow these instructions to the letter.

4. follow(Verb)

   To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).

5. follow(Verb)

   To understand, to pay attention to.

   Do you follow me?

6. follow(Verb)

   To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.

   I followed the incumbent throughout the election.

7. follow(Verb)

   To be a logical consequence of.

   It follows that if two numbers are not equal then one is larger than the other.

Origin: folwen, folgen from folgian, fylgan 'to follow, pursue', from fulʒēnan (compare West Frisian folgje, volgen, folgen), from *fulkan 'folk'. More at folk.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Follow(verb)

   to go or come after; to move behind in the same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend

2. Follow(verb)

   to endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute

3. Follow(verb)

   to accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow good advice

4. Follow(verb)

   to copy after; to take as an example

5. Follow(verb)

   to succeed in order of time, rank, or office

6. Follow(verb)

   to result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference from a premise

7. Follow(verb)

   to watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument

8. Follow(verb)

   to walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling

9. Follow(verb)

   to go or come after; -- used in the various senses of the transitive verb: To pursue; to attend; to accompany; to be a result; to imitate

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Follow

   fol′ō, v.t. to go after or behind: to come after, succeed: to pursue: to attend: to imitate: to obey: to adopt, as an opinion: to keep the eye or mind fixed on: to pursue, as an object of desire: to result from, as an effect from a cause: (B.) to strive to obtain.—v.i. to come after another: to result.—n. (billiards) a stroke which causes the ball to follow the one which it has struck.—ns. Foll′ow-board, in moulding, the board on which the pattern is laid; Foll′ower, one who comes after: a copier: a disciple: a servant-girl's sweetheart; Foll′owing, the whole body of supporters.—adj. coming next after.—Follow home, to follow closely: to follow to the end; Follow on (B.), to continue endeavours; Follow suit, in card-playing, to play a card of the same suit as the one which was led: to do anything on the same lines as another; Follow up, to pursue an advantage closely. [A.S. folgian, fylgian, app. a compound, but obscure; Ger. folgen.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'follow' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1092

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'follow' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1243

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'follow' in Verbs Frequency: #43

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of follow in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of follow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of follow in a Sentence

1. Dante Alighieri:

   Follow your own star!

2. Bernard Baruch:

   Never follow the crowd.

3. Megyn Kelly:

   Further updates to follow.

4. Marc Rolph:

   We have to follow our policies.

5. Survivor Jarrod Clowery:

   I don't follow that case at all.

Images & Illustrations of follow

Popularity rank by frequency of use