Dictionary Definition
follow
Verb
1 to travel behind, go after, come after; "The
ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow
the guide through the museum" [ant: precede]
3 come as a logical consequence; follow
logically; "It follows that your assertion is false"; "the theorem
falls out nicely" [syn: fall out]
4 travel along a certain course; "follow the
road"; "follow the trail" [syn: travel
along]
5 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"
[syn: comply, abide by]
6 come after in time, as a result; "A terrible
tsunami followed the earthquake" [syn: come
after]
7 behave in accordance or in agreement with;
"Follow a pattern"; "Follow my example" [syn: conform
to]
8 be next; "Mary plays best, with John and Sue
following"
9 choose and follow; as of theories, ideas,
policies, strategies or plans; "She followed the feminist
movement"; "The candidate espouses Republican ideals" [syn:
adopt, espouse]
10 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 imitate in behavior; take as a model;
"Teenagers follow their friends in everything" [syn: take
after]
12 follow, discover, or ascertain the course of
development of something; "We must follow closely the economic
development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress" [syn:
trace]
13 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" [syn: watch, observe, watch over,
keep an
eye on]
14 be the successor (of); "Carter followed Ford";
"Will Charles succeed to the throne?" [syn: succeed, come after]
[ant: precede]
15 perform an accompaniment to; "The orchestra
could barely follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano"
[syn: play
along, accompany]
16 keep informed; "He kept up on his country's
foreign policies" [syn: keep up, keep
abreast]
17 to be the product or result; "Melons come from
a vine"; "Understanding comes from experience" [syn: come]
18 accept and follow the leadership or command or
guidance of; "Let's follow our great helmsman!"; "She followed a
guru for years"
19 adhere to or practice; "These people still
follow the laws of their ancient religion"
20 work in a specific place, with a specific
subject, or in a specific function; "He is a herpetologist"; "She
is our resident philosopher" [syn: be]
21 keep under surveillance; "The police had been
following him for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in
the bombing" [syn: surveil, survey]
22 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" [syn: pursue]
23 grasp the meaning; "Can you follow her
argument?"; "When he lectures, I cannot follow"
24 keep to; "Stick to your principles"; "stick to
the diet" [syn: stick to,
stick
with]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
Old English folġianVerb
- To go or come after in physical space.
- Follow that car!
- To go or come after in a sequence.
- B follows A in the alphabet.
- To carry out in accordance to (orders,
instructions, etc).
- Follow these instructions to the letter.
- To live one's live according to (religion, teachings, etc).
- To understand, to pay attention to.
- Do you follow me?
- To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.
- I followed the incumbent throughout the election.
- To be a logical consequence of.
- It follows that no real number may have a negative square.
Synonyms
See also
Translations
to go or come after in physical space
- trreq Albanian
- Arabic: ,
- trreq Armenian
- CJKV Characters: 跟
- Chinese: 跟隨, 跟随 (gēnsuí)
- Czech: sledovat
- Danish: følge
- Dutch: volgen
- trreq Esperanto
- Finnish: seurata
- French: suivre
- Georgian: მიყოლა (miq‘ola), გაყოლა (gaq‘ola)
- German: folgen
- trreq Hebrew
- Hungarian: követ
- Ido: sequar
- Italian: seguire
- Japanese: ついて行く (ついていく, tsuite iku)
- Korean: 따르다 (ttareuda)
- Latin: sequi
- trreq Mongolian
- trreq Old English
- trreq Persian
- Portuguese: seguir
- Russian: следить (sledít’)
- Slovene: slediti
- Spanish: seguir
- Swedish: följa
- Telugu: వెంబడించు (veMbaDiMchu)
- Thai: (táyoi), (dtaam)
- trreq Turkish
to go or come after in a sequence
to carry out in accordance to
to live one’s life according to
- French: se plier à
- German: folgen
- Portuguese: seguir
- Swedish: följa
to understand
to be a logical consequence of
- Czech: plynout
- German: folgen
- Swedish: följa
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abide by, absorb, accept, accept advice, accommodate, accommodate
with, accompany,
accord, act up to,
adapt, adapt to, address, adhere to, adjust, adjust to, admire, adopt, afford proof of, agree
with, align, angle for,
ape, appear like, appreciate, apprehend, approach, approximate, arise, around, ascertain, ask for, assimilate, assimilate to,
attend, attend to,
augment, back, back up, be advised by, be
consistent, be faithful to, be found wanting, be guided by, be
inferior, be into, be like, be redolent of, be strong in, be
vigilant, be watchful, be with one, bear resemblance, beat about
for, beau, become of,
bedog, believe in,
bend, bolster, bring home to, bring to
mind, buttress,
c, call to mind, call up,
carry on, carry out, catch, catch on, chase, check out, check up on,
chime in with, chivy,
cinch, cleave to, clinch, collimate, collineate, come about, come
after, come behind, come close, come last, come near, come of, come
on, come out, come short, compare with, comply, comply with, compose, comprehend, conceive, conclude, conduct, confine, conform, conform to, connect, connect with, consolidate, consummate, continue, convoy, copy, copy after, correct, correspond, counterfeit, court, cultivate, dangle, delve for, demonstrate, desire
guidance, determine,
develop, dig, dig for, digest, discharge, discipline, displace, do, do justice to, dog, echo, employ, emulate, end, engage in, ensue, ensure, equate, equidistance, escort, esquire, establish, eventuate, evoke, exercise, eye, eyeball, fail, fall astern, fall back, fall
behind, fall in with, fall out, fall short, fare, fathom, favor, feature, fill, fish for, fit, fix, flow, follow a clue, follow advice,
follow at heel, follow from, follow implicitly, follow like sheep,
follow suit, follow the crowd, follow up, fulfill, gaze at, gear to,
get, get hold of, get the
drift, get the idea, get the picture, give chase, go after, go
along with, go back, go backwards, go behind, go by, go gunning
for, go in for, grasp, gun
for, hang about, harmonize, have, have a case, have a looksee,
have it taped, have nothing on, heed, heel, hold by, hold good, hold in
view, hold water, hollo after, hound, hunt, hunt down, hunt for, hunt up,
imitate, implore
counsel, inherit,
inquire, investigate, issue, join, keep, keep faith with, keep in
sight, keep in view, keep under observation, keep up with, ken, know, lag behind, lay siege to,
learn, limit, line up, link up, live up
to, look, look after, look
at, look for, look into, look like, look on, look up, look upon,
major in, make after, make conform, make good, make out, make suit
to, master, match, meet, mimic, mind, minor in, mirror, model after, mold, move behind, nail down,
narrow, near, nearly reproduce, nose, nose out, not approach, not
come near, not compare, not hack it, not make it, not measure up,
not tell apart, obey,
observe, pan out,
parallel, parallelize, partake of,
pattern after, pay attention to, pay court to, perform, persevere, persist, place parallel to, play
second fiddle, postdate, practice, prosecute, prove, prove to be, prove true,
prowl after, pursue,
quest, quest after, raise
the hunt, rank under, read,
realign, realize, reconcile, reconnoiter, rectify, reflect, regard, regress, reinforce, remind one of,
remove all doubt, replace, resemble, respect, restrict, result, retrogress, revert, root for, rub off
corners, run after, run down, run to earth, satisfy, savor of, savvy, scout, search, search for, see, see through, see to, seek, seek for, seek out, seem
like, seize, seize the
meaning, sense, serenade, serve, set at rest, settle, settle the matter,
shadow, shape, show, simulate, smack of, smell out,
sniff out, solicit advice, sound like, spark, specialize, specialize in,
spy upon, squire, stack
up with, stalk,
still-hunt, straighten, string along,
subserve, succeed, sue, suggest, suit, supersede, supervene, supplant, support, swain, sweetheart, tackle, tag, tag after, tag along, tail, tailgate, take, take advice, take after, take
in, take on, take out after, take to, take up, tall, tally with, terminate, trace, trace down, track, track down, trail, trail after, trail behind,
try to find, turn out, understand, undertake, unfold, use, view, wage, want, watch, woo, work at, work out, yield