follow
verb /ˈfɒləʊ/
/ˈfɑːləʊ/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they follow | /ˈfɒləʊ/ /ˈfɑːləʊ/ |
| he / she / it follows | /ˈfɒləʊz/ /ˈfɑːləʊz/ |
| past simple followed | /ˈfɒləʊd/ /ˈfɑːləʊd/ |
| past participle followed | /ˈfɒləʊd/ /ˈfɑːləʊd/ |
| -ing form following | /ˈfɒləʊɪŋ/ /ˈfɑːləʊɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, intransitive] to come or go after or behind somebody/something
- follow somebody/something Follow me please.
- follow somebody + adv./prep. He followed her into the house.
- They were followed down the street by a bunch of photographers.
- Wherever she led, they followed.
- Sam walked in, with the rest of the boys following closely behind.
Extra Examples- The dog followed obediently at her heels.
- Follow me please. I'll show you the way.
- She followed blindly, stumbling over stones in her path.
- She beckoned him to follow her.
- Johnson finished first, closely followed by Stevens and Higgins.
- As Jackie walked up the aisle, her mother followed close behind.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- closely
- reluctantly
- dutifully
- …
- beckon somebody to
- beckon to somebody to
- being followed
- follow close behind (somebody)
- follow right behind (somebody)
- …
- [transitive] follow somebody/something to come or go after or behind somebody in order to watch where they go and what they do
- I think we're being followed.
- Police followed the car along Station Road where it mounted the kerb again.
- As she walked home, she had the feeling she was being followed.
- [transitive, intransitive] to come after something/somebody else in time or order; to happen as a result of something else
- follow (something/somebody) I remember little of the days that followed the accident.
- A period of unrest followed the president's resignation.
- The first two classes are followed by a break of ten minutes.
- The main course was followed by fresh fruit.
- to follow I'll have soup and fish to follow.
- A detailed news report will follow shortly.
- There follows… There followed a short silence.
- as follows… The opening hours are as follows…
- follow on from something A new proposal followed on from the discussions.
- the workers' revolts that followed in the wake of the student uprising
Extra ExamplesTopics Change, cause and effecta2- The first mailing was followed by a postcard reminder to all who received the survey.
- Periods of great creativity were followed by years in which he composed nothing.
- Edward was followed in 1553 by Elizabeth's Catholic half-sister Mary.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- closely
- quickly
- shortly
- …
- (be) followed by something
- follow in the wake of something
- [transitive] to do something after something else
- follow something with something Give your contact details and follow this with a brief profile of yourself.
- follow something up with something They follow up their March show with four UK dates next month.
Extra Examples- Follow your treatment with plenty of rest.
- He followed these novels with three volumes of autobiography.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- closely
- quickly
- shortly
- …
- (be) followed by something
- follow in the wake of something
- [transitive] follow something to accept advice, instructions, etc. and do what you have been told or shown to do
- to follow rules/procedures/guidelines
- They said they were just following orders.
- He has trouble following simple instructions.
- Why didn't you follow my advice?
- Turn right and follow signs to Dundee.
- I never follow a recipe completely.
- He followed a strict diet.
Extra ExamplesTopics Suggestions and advicea2- Follow the instructions very carefully.
- I didn't really follow the recipe.
- Read the label and follow the directions for use.
- Leave the M4 at junction 11, then follow the signs.
- When we tried to follow a sign directing us right into Greater Bridgewater Street, we found the road was closed.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- to the letter
- dutifully
- …
- [transitive, intransitive] to accept somebody/something as a guide, a leader or an example; to copy somebody/something
- follow (somebody/something) I encourage others to follow our example.
- The Senate is expected to follow the lead of the House.
- We believe it is in our best interests to follow the path of economic openness and growth.
- The movie follows the book faithfully.
- They followed the teachings of Buddha.
- He always followed the latest fashions (= dressed in fashionable clothes).
- Where one airline leads, others follow.
- follow somebody into something Laura followed her mother into the medical profession (= became a doctor like her mother).
Extra Examples- Banks are expected to follow the building societies in raising mortgage rates.
- It wasn't in his nature to follow blindly.
- How do your feel your writing follows in the tradition of the South?
- slavishly following the views of his teachers
- I don't want you to follow my example and rush into marriage.
- Following the example of Barcelona, greater emphasis is now given to public spaces.
- He ordered a glass of champagne, and we followed his lead.
- He leads by example and the others follow.
- Marc is following a path laid down by his father.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- faithfully
- blindly
- slavishly
- …
- be expected to
- be likely to
- follow in somebody’s footsteps
- follow in the tradition of somebody/something
- follow suit
- …
- follow something to click on a link in a website
- Follow the links to sign up for the webinar.
- [transitive] follow something to go along a road, path, etc.
- Follow this road until you get to the school, then turn left.
- [transitive] follow something (of a road, path, etc.) to go in the same direction as something or parallel to something
- The lane follows the edge of a wood for about a mile.
- [intransitive, transitive] (not usually used in the progressive tenses) to be the logical result of something
- follow from something I don't see how that follows from what you've just said.
- follow on from something Several conclusions follow on from his statement.
- it follows that… If a = b and b = c it follows that a = c.
- It does not necessarily follow that sleep loss would cause these symptoms.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- not necessarily
- logically
- naturally
- …
- (on) from
- [intransitive, transitive] to understand an explanation or the meaning of something
- Sorry, I don't follow.
- follow somebody Do you follow me?
- follow something I couldn't really follow his argument.
- The plot is almost impossible to follow.
- to be easy/difficult/hard to follow
Extra Examples- Sorry, I don't follow you.
- His argument was difficult to follow.
Synonyms understandunderstand- see
- get
- follow
- grasp
- comprehend
- understand to know or realize the meaning of words, a language, what somebody says, etc; to know or realize how or why something happens, how it works or why it is important:
- I don’t understand the instructions.
- Doctors still don’t understand much about the disease.
- see to understand what is happening, what somebody is saying, how something works or how important something is:
- ‘It opens like this.’ ‘Oh, I see.’
- Oh yes, I see what you mean.
- get (informal) to understand a joke, what somebody is trying to tell you, or a situation that they are trying to describe:
- She didn’t get the joke.
- I don’t get you.
- follow to understand an explanation, a story or the meaning of something:
- Sorry—I don’t quite follow.
- The plot is almost impossible to follow.
- grasp to come to understand a fact, an idea or how to do something:
- They failed to grasp the importance of his words.
- comprehend (often used in negative statements) (formal) to understand a fact, idea or reason:
- The concept of infinity is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend.
- to understand/see/get/follow/grasp/comprehend what/why/how…
- to understand/see/grasp/comprehend that…
- to understand/see/get/grasp the point/idea (of something)
- to be easy/difficult/hard to understand/see/follow/grasp/comprehend
- to fully understand/see/grasp/comprehend something
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- not quite
- be easy to
- be difficult to
- be hard to
- …
- [transitive] follow somebody/something to watch or listen to somebody/something very carefully
- The children were following every word of the story intently.
- Her eyes followed him everywhere (= she was looking at him all the time).
- [transitive] follow something to take an active interest in something and be aware of what is happening; to support a sports team
- We've been following this story for months.
- Have you been following the basketball championships?
- Millions of people followed the trial on TV.
- In his leisure time he follows West Ham United.
Extra Examples- They say it takes dedication to follow a football team week-in, week-out for eight months of the season.
- Will this be a big shock to people who follow events closely in Washington?
- [transitive] follow somebody to choose to regularly receive messages from a person, company, etc. using a social media service
- I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter any more.
- [transitive] follow something to be about the life or development of somebody/something
- The novel follows the fortunes of a village community in Scotland.
- [transitive] follow something to develop or happen in a particular way
- The day followed the usual pattern.
go after
happen/do after
advice/instructions
accept/copy
website
road/path
be result
understand
watch/listen
be interested in
of book/movie
pattern/course
Word OriginOld English folgian, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch volgen and German folgen.
Idioms
follow in somebody’s footsteps
- to do the same job, have the same style of life, etc. as somebody else, especially somebody in your family
- She works in television, following in her father's footsteps.
- He wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps and be a ballroom dancer.
follow your nose
- to be guided by your sense of smell
- to go straight forward
- The garage is a mile ahead up the hill—just follow your nose.
- to act according to what seems right or reasonable, rather than following any particular rules
follow suit
- (in card games) to play a card of the same suit that has just been played
- to act or behave in the way that somebody else has just done
a hard/tough act to follow
- a person or event that is so good or successful at something that it will be difficult for anyone/anything else coming after them to be as good or successful
- She has been an excellent principal and will be a hard act to follow.
- Their contribution will prove a tough act to follow.