v., -lowed, -low·ing, -lows. v.tr.
- To come or go after; proceed behind: Follow the usher to your seat.
- To go after in or as if in pursuit: “The wrong she had done followed her and haunted her dream” (Katherine Anne Porter).
- To keep under surveillance: followed the suspect around town.
- To move along the course of; take: We followed a path to the shore.
- To go in the direction of; be guided by: followed the sun westward across the plains; followed the signs to the zoo.
- To accept the guidance, command, or leadership of: follow a spiritual master; rebels who refused to follow their commander.
- To adhere to; practice: followed family traditions.
- To take as a model or precedent; imitate: followed my example and resigned.
- To act in agreement or compliance with; obey: follow the rules; follow one's instincts.
- To keep to or stick to: followed the recipe; follow a diet.
- To engage in (a trade or occupation); work at.
- To come after in order, time, or position: Night follows day.
- To bring something about at a later time than or as a consequence of: She followed her lecture with a question-and-answer period. The band followed its hit record with a tour.
- To occur or be evident as a consequence of: Your conclusion does not follow your premise.
- To watch or observe closely: followed the bird through binoculars.
- To be attentive to; pay close heed to: too sleepy to follow the sermon.
- To keep oneself informed of the course, progress, or fortunes of: follow the stock market; followed the local teams.
- To grasp the meaning or logic of; understand: Do you follow my argument?
- To come, move, or take place after another person or thing in order or time.
- To occur or be evident as a consequence; result: If you ignore your diet, trouble will follow.
- To grasp the meaning or reasoning of something; understand.
- The act or an instance of following.
- Games. A billiards shot in which the cue ball is struck above center so that it follows the path of the object ball after impact.
follow along
- To move or proceed in unison or in accord with an example: followed along with the song.
- Sports. To carry a stroke to natural completion after hitting or releasing a ball or other object.
- To carry an act, project, or intention to completion; pursue fully: followed through on her promise to reorganize the department.
- To carry to completion; follow through on: followed up their recommendations with concrete proposals.
- To increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of by further action: followed up her interview with an e-mail.
as follows
- As will be stated next. Used to introduce a specified enumeration, explanation, or command.
- To move straight ahead or in a direct path.
- Informal. To be guided by instinct: had no formal training but became a success by following his nose.
- Games. To play a card of the same suit as the one led.
- To do as another has done; follow an example.
[Middle English folowen, from Old English folgian.]
SYNONYMS follow, succeed, ensue, result, supervene. These verbs mean to come after something or someone. Follow, which has the widest application, can refer to coming after in time or order, as a consequence or result, or by the operation of logic: Night follows day. He disregarded doctor's orders, and a relapse followed. Because she decries violence, it follows that she won't carry a gun. To succeed is to come next after another, especially in planned order determined by considerations such as rank, inheritance, or election: The heir apparent succeeded to the throne. Ensue usually applies to what is a consequence or logical development: After the government was toppled, chaos ensued. Result implies that what follows is caused by what has preceded: Failure to file an income tax return can result in a fine. Supervene, in contrast, refers to something that is often unexpected and that has little relation to what has preceded: “A bad harvest supervened” (Charlotte Brontë).
USAGE NOTE As follows (not as follow) is the established form of the idiom regardless of whether the noun that precedes it is singular or plural: The regulations are as follows.
