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Webster 1913 Edition

Follow

Fol′low

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Followed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Following
.]
[OE.
foluwen
,
folwen
,
folgen
, AS.
folgian
,
fylgean
,
fylgan
; akin to D.
volgen
, OHG.
folgēn
, G.
folgen
, Icel.
fylgja
, Sw.
följa
, Dan.
fölge
, and perh. to E.
folk
.]
1.
To go or come after; to move behind in the same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend.
It waves me forth again; I’ll
follow
it.
Shakespeare
2.
To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute.
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall
follow
them.
Ex. xiv. 17.
3.
To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action;
as, to
follow
good advice
.
Approve the best, and
follow
what I approve
Milton.
.
Follow
peace with all men.
Heb. xii. 14.
It is most agreeable to some men to
follow
their reason; and to others to
follow
their appetites.
J. Edwards.
4.
To copy after; to take as an example.
We had rather
follow
the perfections of them whom we like not, than in defects resemble them whom we love.
Hooker.
5.
To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
6.
To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference from a premise.
7.
To watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument.
He
followed
with his eyes the flitting shade.
Dryden.
8.
To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
O, had I but
followed
the arts!
Shakespeare
O Antony! I have
followed
thee to this.
Shakespeare
Syn.- To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany; succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain.
- To
Follow
,
Pursue
. To follow (v.t.) denotes simply to go after; to pursue denotes to follow with earnestness, and with a view to attain some definite object;
as, a hound
pursues
the deer
. So a person follows a companion whom he wishes to overtake on a journey; the officers of justice pursue a felon who has escaped from prison.
Syn. – To
Follow
,
Succeed
,
Ensue
.
To follow (v.i.) means simply to come after;
as, a crowd
followed
. To succeed means to come after in some regular series or succession;
as, day
succeeds
to day, and night to night
. To ensue means to follow by some established connection or principle of sequence. As wave follows wave, revolution succeeds to revolution; and nothing ensues but accumulated wretchedness.

Webster 1828 Edition

Follow

FOL'LOW

, v.t.
1.
To go after or behind; to walk, ride or move behind, but in the same direction. Soldiers will usually follow a brave officer.
2.
To pursue; to chase; as an enemy, or as game.
3.
To accompany; to attend in a journey.
And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode on the camels, and followed the man. Gen. 24.
4.
To accompany; to be of the same company; to attend, for any purpose. Luke 5.
5.
To succeed in order of time; to come after; as a storm is followed by a calm.
Signs following signs lead on the mighty year.
6.
To be consequential; to result from, as effect from a cause. Intemperance is often followed by disease or poverty, or by both.
7.
To result from, as an inference or deduction. It follows from these facts that the accused is guilty.
8.
To pursue with the eye; to keep the eyes fixed on a moving body. He followed or his eyes followed the ship, till it was beyond sight.
He followed with his eyes the fleeting shade.
9.
To imitate; to copy; as, to follow a pattern or model; to follow fashion.
10.
To embrace; to adopt and maintain; to have or entertain like opinions; to think or believe like another; as, to follow the opinions and tenets of a philsophic sect; to follow Plato.
11.
To obey; to observe; to practice; to act in conformity to. It is our duty to follow the commands of Christ. Good soldiers follow the orders of their general; good servants follow the directions of their master.
12.
To pursue as an object of desire; to endeavor to obtain.
Follow peace with all men. Heb. 12.
13.
To use; to practice; to make the chief business; as, to follow the trade of a carpenter; to follow the profession of law.
14.
To adhere to; to side with.
The house of Judah followed David. 2Sam. 2.
15.
To adhere to; to honor; to worship; to serve.
If the Lord be God, follow him. 1Kings 18.
16.
To be led or guided by.
Wo to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing. Ezek. 13.
17.
To move on in the same course or direction; to be guided by; as, to follow a track or course.

FOL'LOW

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To come after another.
The famine - shall follow close after you. Jer. 42.
2.
To attend; to accompany.
3.
To be posterior in time; as following ages.
4.
To be consequential, as effect to cause. From such measures, great mischiefs must follow.
5.
To result, as an inference. The facts may be admitted, but the inference drawn from them does not follow.
To follow on, to continue pursuit or endeavor; to persevere.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.
Hosea 6.

Definition 2024

follow

follow

English

Verb

follow ‎(third-person singular simple present follows, present participle following, simple past and past participle followed)

  1. (transitive) To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction.
    Follow that car!‎
  2. (transitive) To go or come after in a sequence.
    B follows A in the alphabet.‎
    We both ordered the soup, with roast beef to follow.
  3. (transitive) To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an 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.
    Follow these instructions to the letter.‎
  4. (transitive) To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).
  5. (transitive) To understand, to pay attention to.
    Do you follow me?‎
  6. (transitive) To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.
    I followed the incumbent throughout the election.‎
  7. (transitive) To be a logical consequence of.
    It follows that if two numbers are not equal then one is larger than the other.‎
  8. (transitive) To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
    • Shakespeare
      O, had I but followed the arts!

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Translations

Noun

follow ‎(plural follows)

  1. (sometimes attributive) In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it.
    a follow shot
  2. (Internet) The act of following another user's online activity.
    • 2012, Brett Petersel, ‎Esther Schindler, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Twitter Marketing
      It doesn't take too many follows to become overwhelmed with the deluge of content on Twitter.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: trees · filled · visit · #638: follow · chance · happened · broken

Etymology

From Middle English folwen, folȝen, folgen, from Old English folgian, fylġan ‎(“to follow, pursue”), from Proto-Germanic *fulgijaną ‎(“to follow”). Cognate with Scots folow, falow ‎(“to follow”) Saterland Frisian foulgje ‎(“to follow”), West Frisian folgje ‎(“to follow”), Dutch volgen ‎(“to follow”), German folgen ‎(“to follow”), Danish følge ‎(“to follow”), Swedish följa ‎(“to follow”), Icelandic fylgja ‎(“to follow”). More at folk. See also full.

Pronunciation

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