follow

verb

1. 1

   To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.

   Follow that car!

   She left the room and I followed.

   I will follow him / Follow him, wherever he may go / There isn't an ocean too deep / A mountain so high it can keep me away

2. 2

   To go or come after in a sequence.

   B follows A in the alphabet.

   We both ordered the soup, with roast beef to follow.

   Where a pon thys for sayd men dyd sett yᵉ prysse under yᵉ maner as here after follyzth: & Thomas Borrage yᵗ was tuthyng man at yᵉ tyme for iak Tymwell dyd gether yˢ mony yᵗ follyth & brosth hyt to yˢ for said men by causse yᵗ they schuld se every man content after their conssyens

3. 3

   To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).

   Follow these instructions to the letter.

   The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.[…]Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.

4. 4

   To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).

5. 5

   To understand, to pay attention to.

   Do you follow me?

6. 6

   To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.

   I followed the incumbent throughout the election.

   My friends don't regularly follow the news.

7. 7

   To be a supporter of (a sports team).

   "Sometimes I wonder what you do take any notice of—except the whistle and short skirts," speculated his superior. "But no doubt ideas are germinating." "I follow Chelsea," maintained Horace.

8. 8

   To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.

   If you want to see more of our articles, follow us on Twitter.

9. 9

   To be a logical consequence of something.

   It follows that if two numbers are not equal then one is larger than the other.

   If you don't practise proper hygiene, illness is sure to follow.

10. 10

    To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.

    O had I but followed the Arts.

noun

1. 1

   In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it.

   a follow shot

2. 2

   The act of following another user's online activity.

   It doesn't take too many follows to become overwhelmed with the deluge of content on Twitter.

   Social media is supervisual, and there's nothing more shareable than images, so this is a way to increase shares and likes and follows.

Forms

plural

follows

past tense

followed

past participle

followed

present participle

following

third person singular

follows