follow (ˈfɒləʊ
)
Definitions
verb
- to go or come after in the same direction ⇒
he followed his friend home
- (tr) to accompany; attend ⇒
she followed her sister everywhere
- to come after as a logical or natural consequence
- (tr) to keep to the course or track of ⇒
she followed the towpath
- (tr) to act in accordance with; obey ⇒
to follow instructions
- (tr) to accept the ideas or beliefs of (a previous authority, etc) ⇒
he followed Donne in most of his teachings
- to understand (an explanation, argument, etc) ⇒
the lesson was difficult to follow
- to watch closely or continuously ⇒
she followed his progress carefully
- (tr) to have a keen interest in ⇒
to follow athletics
- (tr) to help in the cause of or accept the leadership of ⇒
the men who followed Napoleon
- (tr) to choose to receive messages posted by (a blogger or microblogger) ⇒
I've been following her online
- (tr) rare to earn a living at or in ⇒
to follow the Navy
- See follow suit
noun
- billiards snooker
- a forward spin imparted to a cue ball causing it to roll after the object ball
- a shot made in this way
Alternative Forms
ˈfollowable adjectiveWord Origin
Old English folgian ; related to Old Frisian folgia , Old Saxon folgōn , Old High German folgēnSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
accompany,
attend,
escort,
come after,
go behind tag along behind
bring up the rear,
come behind come or go with tread on the heels of
=
come after,
go after,
come next
=
result,
issue,
develop,
spring,
flow,
proceed,
arise,
ensue,
roll up,
emanate,
be consequent
supervene,
=
obey,
observe,
comply with
adhere to,
mind,
watch,
note,
regard,
stick to,
heed,
conform to
keep to,
pay attention to be guided by
toe the line,
act according to act in accordance with give allegiance to
=
copy,
imitate,
emulate,
mimic,
model,
adopt,
live up to,
take a leaf out of someone's book,
take as an example pattern yourself upon
=
succeed,
replace,
come after,
take over from come next
supersede,
supplant,
take the place of,
step into the shoes of
=
understand,
get,
see,
catch,
realize,
appreciate,
take in,
grasp,
catch on,
keep up with,
comprehend,
fathom,
get the hang of,
get the picture,
=
keep up with,
support,
be interested in
cultivate,
be devoted to be a fan of keep abreast of be a devotee or supporter of
Translations
- British English:
follow
If you follow someone who is going somewhere, you move along behind them.We followed him up the steps. They took him into a small room and I followed.ˈfɒləʊ VERB We followed him up the steps. They took him into a small room and I followed.
- Spanish:
seguir
v
- French:
suivre
vt
- German:
folgen
v
- Chinese: 跟随 vt
- Arabic: يَتْبَعُ v
- Portuguese: seguir vt
- Russian: следовать vi
- Croatian: slijediti v
- Czech: následovat vt
- Danish: følge v
- Dutch: volgen vt
- Finnish: seurata v
- Greek: ακολουθώ v
- Italian: seguire v
- Japanese: ･･･について行く v
- Korean: ...에 잇따르다 vt
- Norwegian: følge (etter) v
- Polish: nastąpić vt następować
- Brazilian Portuguese: seguir vt
- European Spanish:
seguir
v
- Swedish: följa vt
- Thai: ตาม vt
- Turkish: izlemek vt
- Vietnamese: đi theo v
Usage examples
I got in the passenger side of the cab and told the driver to follow David's car.
, BLOOD IS DIRT (2002)Don't sit right at the front but tuck in behind someone you know is a good rider and follow them.
Cycling Weekly (2004)However, not everybody believes that strife will automatically follow the poll.
Irish Times (2002)Any Greek Orthodox overtures to the Vatican would likely encourage other churches to follow.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Yet another i/ c party, `Corporal Allan, follow me, folks.
, THE ESSENTIAL SPIKE MILLIGAN (2002)