From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_116_ffollowfol‧low /ˈfɒləʊ $ ˈfɑːloʊ/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 go after [intransitive, transitive]FOLLOW to go, walk, drive etc behind or after someone else Are those men following us? The patrol car followed the BMW for a few miles and then lost it. Tom’s already gone out to Rome and his wife and children will follow shortly.follow somebody into/to etc something Peggy followed her out onto the landing.2 happen after [intransitive, transitive]AFTER to happen or do something after something else The agreement followed months of negotiation. The assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 was followed by that of Robert Kennedy.there follows something After weeks of intense fighting, there followed a brief period of calm. Most EU countries have signed the agreement and the US is expected to follow shortly (=soon). → following33 come after [intransitive, transitive]AFTER to come directly after something else in a series, list, or order → following The chapters that follow deal mainly with mathematics. In English, the letter Q is always followed by U. We had vegetable casserole with a fruit salad to follow (=as part of a meal).there follows something There followed several pages of incomprehensible statistics.4 → as follows5 do what somebody saysTHINK something/HAVE A THOUGHT [transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it He followed the doctor’s advice and had no further trouble. Follow the instructions very carefully when filling in the form. They followed the plan that Elizabeth had worked out.6 → follow the signs/somebody’s directions7 do the same thing [intransitive, transitive]IMITATE to do the same thing as someone else Some state schools follow the example of private schools in asking parents to donate money. Environmentalists are urging the government to follow the lead of Scandinavian countries in this matter. She’s just like any young woman who enjoys following the latest fashions (=wearing fashionable clothes).follow somebody into something (=do the same job as someone else) He does not want to follow his father into a scientific career.8 believe in something [transitive]RRRELIGION to believe in and obey a particular set of religious or political ideas 9 go in particular direction [transitive] a) FOLLOWto continue along a particular road, river etc I followed the main road up the mountain. Tom followed the track that leads to the old Roman road. b) FOLLOWto go in the same direction as something else, or to go parallel to something else The road follows the line of the river.10 understand [intransitive, transitive]UNDERSTAND to understand something such as an explanation or story SYN grasp I didn’t quite follow what he was saying.easy/difficult/hard etc to follow The plot is a little difficult to follow.► see thesaurus at understand11 be a result [intransitive]RESULT to be true as a result of something else that is truefollow from The conclusion that follows from these findings is that inner city schools need more investment, not less. It doesn’t necessarily follow that you’re going to do well academically even if you’re highly intelligent.12 be interested [transitive]SUPPORT A TEAM OR PLAYER to be interested in something and in the way it develops Have you been following that crime series on TV? I’ve been following his progress very closely. She just doesn’t understand people who follow football or any other kind of sport.13 → follow a pattern/course/trend etc14 → follow suit15 → follow in somebody’s footsteps16 be about [transitive]DESCRIBEABOUT to show or describe someone’s life or a series of events, for example in a film or book The book follows the plight of an orphaned Irish girl who marries into New York society. 17 → be a hard act to follow18 watch carefully [transitive]WATCHLISTEN to carefully watch someone do something She followed Simon with her eyes as he walked to the gate.19 think about/study [transitive] to study or think about a particular idea or subject and try to learn something from it It turned out we were both following the same line of research. If you follow that idea to its logical conclusion, we’d have to ban free speech altogether.20 → follow your instincts/feelings/gut reaction etc21 → follow the herd/crowd22 → follow your nose23 → follow a profession/trade/way of life etc24 [transitive] to look at the messages sent by a particular person using the social networking service TwitterTHESAURUSfollow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are goingThe man had followed her home to find out where she lived.Follow that car!He hired a detective to follow her.chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escapePolice chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to themI ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack thema tiger stalking its preyHe had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined wayThe ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from youOne of the officers gave chase and arrested the man.The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they goApparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the groundThe bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert. → follow somebody around → follow on → follow through → follow something ↔ up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
follow• Opening statements may not come until late next week, with witnesses and evidence following.• This advice will not be easy to follow.• Do you follow baseball at all?• Suddenly there was a shout from above, immediately followed by a loud bang.• China's first nuclear test in October 1964 was closely followed by a second in May 1965.• Each chapter is followed by a set of exercises.• Then, through the rain, she heard a scratching sound, followed by a sharp, impatient bark.• In English the letter Q is always followed by a U.• Classes will be held daily from 8 to 10 p. m., followed by practice at local tango bars until midnight.• She complained to the police officer that she was being followed by two strangers.• He followed her home to find out where she lived.• She didn't notice that Jack had followed her into the kitchen.• She could see no sign of anyone following her.• Marlowe looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him.• Follow me and I'll show you where the library is.• My little brother's been following me around all day.• Did you make sure you weren't followed on the way over here?• He was a military man, and therefore used to following orders.• Follow the Iceberg Lake trail until you reach the shore.• Several biotech companies are following the same line of research.• I had difficulty following the story - there are so many different characters.• A full report follows this chapter.• I'll drive, and you can follow us.• It was one of those paintings where the eyes follow you.• I have followed your instructions exactly.follow shortly• Armando Guebuza, expressed the hope that a comprehensive ceasefire agreement would follow shortly.• By 4 p. m. Monday, half the plants were already down and others were expected to follow shortly.• Doing so allows the inflammation to reoccur and an asthma attack can follow shortly.• This may not be possible, so we apologise if any are missing, and guarantee, they will follow shortly.• The House approved it 414-16, and the Senate followed shortly afterward with a vote of 91-5.• His resignation from a job scheduled to end in 2003 followed shortly afterwards.• The next examination was scheduled for April, to be followed shortly by a new intake.• The first telephone call followed shortly thereafter.Follow ... instructions• All you do is highlight the address, click on the Envelope button on the toolbar, and follow the instructions.• Dale says that anyone who is having problems with epoflex is not following the instructions.• You should take the Steamatic, securely re-packaged, to a Post Office and follow the instructions given.• Follow the instructions on each page.• To become a donor, simply click through and follow the instructions on how to print out the card.• Follow the instructions on the can.• Read and follow the instructions on the packet.• Follow the instructions printed on the back of the box.follow somebody into something• Cox's son Robert followed him into the family business.easy/difficult/hard etc to follow• Try to listen to and understand others, even if you find what they say uncongenial or hard to follow. 3.• A little care is needed with the directions in section 7 otherwise the route is easy to follow.• The makeup of their various military coalitions is not always easy to follow.• This advice will not be easy to follow.• Walker gives routes a pitch by pitch description where he feels they are hard to follow.• Mr. Wilkinson I am trying hard to follow the hon. Gentleman's logic.• From this time it is hard to follow Tyndale's movements, for he covered his tracks to avoid possible arrest.• It is therefore, very difficult to follow up adults who have enquired about courses but not actually applied.It ... follow that• If utilitarianism has no way of making equity matter, it does not follow that equity is unimportant or insignificant.• From this it follows that far more transactions could well be caught under the section than at first appears.• It does not follow that in owning a funboard you should only learn funboard techniques.• Since no one could know all this, it follows that no one could understand the meaning of these words.• It followed that Northumberland's men were in a sense Gloucester's men, even though the duke could not retain them directly.• It follows that the academic community and research are directly interrelated.• It follows that the duty can not be expected to play a major part in controlling managerialist tendencies.• Nor does it follow that this second meaning should be given pedagogic preference over the first.followed ... with ... eyes• They followed it with their eyes as it slowly climbed toward the hospital.From Longman Business Dictionaryfollowfollow /ˈfɒləʊˈfɑːloʊ/ verb1[intransitive, transitive] to come or happen afterwardsThe company’s decision to diversify follows a sharp decline in demand for its products.As the recession worsened, further closures followed.2[intransitive] (also follow on) to be sent or paid laterYou can pay a deposit of £400 now, with the balance to follow within 30 days.3[transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it, or according to the instructions that say how it should be doneIf you’d followed my advice, we’d still be in profit.The contractor was fined for failing to follow proper safety procedures.Just follow the guidelines contained in this report.4[transitive] to act according to a particular plan or set of ideasThe Chancellor is expected to follow a cautious economicpolicy.The company had followed the wrong strategy.5[transitive] to happen or develop in the same way as something elseThese recent mergers appear to be following a trend.If one company drops its prices, the others have to follow suit (=do the same thing).6follow an occupation/trade/career etc formal to do a particular job or tradeHe intends to follow a legal career. → follow something → up → follow something up with something→ See Verb tableOrigin follow Old English folgian 