follow

From Middle English folwen, folȝen, folgen, from Old English folgian (“to follow, pursue”), from Proto-West Germanic *folgēn, from Proto-Germanic *fulgāną (“to follow”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒləʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑloʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒləʊ
• Hyphenation: fol‧low

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

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

   Synonyms: trail, tail

   Antonyms: guide, lead

   Follow that car!

   She left the room and I followed.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:

     Ambassador Udina: The other species are scared. They've never faced anything like this before and they don't know what to do. They want us to step forward. They believe in humanity because of you.
     Ambassador Udina: Your ruthless pursuit of Saren and the geth, your defiance of the Council -- that's what humans are capable of! That's how we can defeat the Reapers!
     Ambassador Udina: The others will follow us, Shepard. They know we're their only hope. We will have a human Council with a human Chairman.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To go or come after in a sequence.

   Synonyms: succeed; see also Thesaurus:succeed

   Antonyms: precede; see also Thesaurus:precede

   B follows A in the alphabet.

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

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

   Synonym: pursue

   Follow these instructions to the letter.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 58–59:

     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. (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.

   My friends don't regularly follow the news.

7. (social media, transitive) To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.

   Antonym: unfollow

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

8. (transitive, intransitive) To be a logical consequence of something.

   Synonym: ensue

   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.

9. (transitive) To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
   • c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 256, column 2:

     O had I but followed the Arts.

• chase (verb)

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. (social media) 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.

   • 2016, Brooke Warner, Green-Light Your Book:

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

• Wollof

• 科勞／科劳 (fo¹ lou⁴)

From English follow or clipping of English follower.

follow

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, social media) follower count (Classifier: 個／个 c)

• fol (fo¹)
• follower (fo¹ lou⁴ waa⁴, fo¹ lou⁴ aa⁴)

follow

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, social media) to follow

• fol (fo¹)

• unfol (an⁶ fo¹)