From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfollow through phrasal verb1 FINISH DOING somethingto do what needs to be done to complete something or make it successful The project went wrong when the staff failed to follow through.follow something ↔ through If you have followed through all the exercises in this book, you should be ready for the second year course.2 DSto continue moving your arm after you have hit the ball in tennis, golf etc → follow-through → follow→ See Verb tablefollow-throughˈfollow-through noun [singular] 1 DSthe continued movement of your arm after you have hit the ball in tennis, golf etc → follow through2 FINISH DOING somethingthe things that someone does in order to complete a plan → follow through The budget has to cover not only the main project but the follow-through.
Examples from the Corpus
follow-through• The enthusiastic, spontaneous idea-generator type worker will probably not be as organized and good at follow-through.• The final step to the process, then, is follow-through.• Soft money helped pay for the contract and its follow-through, just as it helped finance the Democratic counterattack.• This kind of follow-through provides children with important lessons in reading strategies.• All the follow-through was in accord with these themes.• The budget covers not only the main project but the follow-through.• The follow-through not only helps children meet their responsibility, it also fosters the growth of good work habits and autonomy. 