follow
follow
(fŏlʹō) verb
followed
, following, follows
verb
, transitive
1.
To come or go after; proceed behind: Follow the usher to your seat.
2.
a. To go after in or as if in pursuit: "The wrong she had done followed her and haunted her dream" (Katherine Anne Porter). b. To keep under surveillance: followed the suspect for a week before making the arrest.
3.
a. To move along the course of; take: We followed a path to the shore. b. To go in the direction of; be guided by: followed the sun westward across the plains; followed the signs to the monkey house.
4. To accept the guidance, command, or leadership of: follow a spiritual master; rebels who refused to follow their commander.
5. To adhere to; practice: followed the ancient customs of their people.
6. To take as a model or precedent; imitate: followed her new friends in everything they did; followed my example and resigned.
7. a. To act in agreement or compliance with; obey: follow the rules; follow one's instincts. b. To keep to or stick to: followed the recipe; follow a diet.
8. To engage in (a trade or occupation); work at.
9. To come after in order, time, or position: Night follows day.
10. To bring something about at a later time than or as a consequence of: She followed her lecture with a question-and-answer period. The band followed its hit record with a national tour.
11. To occur or be evident as a consequence of: Your conclusion does not follow your premise.
12. a. To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars. b. To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon. c. To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
13. To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand: Do you follow my argument?
verb
, intransitive
1.
To come, move, or take place after another person or thing in order or time.
2.
To occur or be evident as a consequence; result: If you ignore your diet, trouble will follow.
3.
To grasp the meaning or reasoning of something; understand.
noun
1.
The act or an instance of following.
2.
Games. A billiards shot in which the cue ball is struck above center so that it follows the path of the object ball after impact.
phrasal verb.
follow along
To move or proceed in unison or in accord with an example: followed along with the song. follow through
1.
Sports. To carry a stroke to natural completion after hitting or releasing a ball or other object.
2. To carry an act, a project, or an intention to completion; pursue fully: followed through on her promise to reorganize the department.
follow up
1.
To carry to completion; follow through on: followed up their recommendations with concrete proposals.
2.
To increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of by further action: followed up her interview with a telephone call.
idiom.
as follows
As will be stated next. Used to introduce a specified enumeration, explanation, or command.
follow (one's) nose
1.
To move straight ahead or in a direct path.
2.
Informal. To be guided by instinct: had no formal training but became a success by following his nose.
follow suit
1.
Games. To play a card of the same suit as the one led.
2. To do as another has done; follow an example.
[Middle English folowen, from Old English folgian.]
Synonyms:
follow, succeed, ensue, result, supervene. These verbs mean to come after something or someone. Follow, which has the widest application, can refer to coming after in time or order, as a consequence or result, or by the operation of logic: Night follows day. If you disregard the doctor's orders, a relapse will follow. Though he disapproves of violence, it doesn't follow that he won't defend himself. To succeed is to come next after another in time or order, especially in planned order determined by considerations such as rank, inheritance, or election: "The son of a mandarin has no prescriptive right to succeed his father" (H.G. Wells). The heir apparent succeeded to the throne. Ensue applies to what follows something, usually as a consequence or by way of logical development: If a forest fire cannot be extinguished, devastation is sure to ensue. Result implies that what follows is caused by what has preceded: Failure to file an income tax return can result in a fine. Supervene, in contrast, refers to the coming after of a thing that has little relation to what has preceded and that is often unexpected: "A bad harvest supervened. Distress reached its climax" (Charlotte Brontë).
Usage Note:
As follows (not as follow) is the established form of the idiom, no matter whether the noun that precedes it is singular or plural: The regulations are as follows.