follow
fol·low [follow follows followed following] BrE [ˈfɒləʊ] NAmE [ˈfɑːloʊ] verb
GO AFTER
1. transitive, intransitive ~ (sb/sth) to come or go after or behind sb/sth
• He followed her into the house.
• Follow me please. I'll show you the way.
•I think we're being followed.
• (figurative)She followed her mother into the medical profession.
•Wherever she led, they followed.
•Sam walked in, with the rest of the boys following closely behind.
HAPPEN/DO AFTER
2. transitive, intransitive ~ (sth/sb) to come after sth/sb else in time or order; to happen as a result of sth else
• The first two classes are followed by a break of ten minutes.
• I remember little of the days that followed the accident.
•A period of unrest followed the president's resignation.
•A detailed news report will follow shortly.
•There followed a short silence.
•The opening hours are as follows …
•A new proposal followed on from the discussions.
3. transitive to do sth after sth else
•~ sth with sth Follow your treatment with plenty of rest.
•~ sth up with sth They follow up their March show with four UK dates next month.
BE RESULT
4. intransitive, transitive (not usually used in the progressive tenses)to be the logical result of sth
•~ (from sth) I don't see how that follows from what you've just said.
•it follows that… If a = b and b = c it follows that a = c.
OF PART OF MEAL
5. transitive, intransitive ~ (sth) to come or be eaten after another part
• The main course was followed by fresh fruit. This pattern is usually used in the passive.
• I'll have soup and fish to follow.
ROAD/PATH
6. transitive ~ sth to go along a road, path, etc
• Follow this road until you get to the school, then turn left.
7. transitive ~ sth (of a road, path, etc.)to go in the same direction as sth or parallel to sth
• The lane follows the edge of a wood for about a mile.
ADVICE/INSTRUCTIONS
8. transitive ~ sth to accept advice, instructions, etc. and do what you have been told or shown to do
•to follow a diet/recipe
• He has trouble following simple instructions.
• Why didn't you follow my advice?
ACCEPT/COPY
9. transitive ~ sth to accept sb/sth as a guide, a leader or an example; to copy sb/sth
• They followed the teachings of Buddha.
• He always followed the latest fashions (= dressed in fashionable clothes).
•I don't want you to follow my example and rush into marriage.
•The movie follows the book faithfully.
UNDERSTAND
10. intransitive, transitive to understand an explanation or the meaning of sth
•~ (sb) Sorry, I don't follow.
• Sorry, I don't follow you.
•~ sth The plot is almost impossible to follow.
WATCH/LISTEN
11. transitive ~ sb/sth to watch or listen to sb/sth 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).
BE INTERESTED IN
12. transitive ~ sth to take an active interest in sth and be aware of what is happening
• Have you been following the basketball championships?
• Millions of people followed the trial on TV.
OF BOOK/MOVIE
13. transitive ~ sth to be concerned with the life or development of sb/sth
• The novel follows the fortunes of a village community in Scotland.
PATTERN/COURSE
14. transitive ~ sth to develop or happen in a particular way
• The day followed the usual pattern.
more at a hard/tough act to follow at ↑act n.
Idioms: ↑follow in somebody's footsteps ▪ ↑follow suit ▪ ↑follow your nose
Derived: ↑follow on ▪ ↑follow somebody about ▪ ↑follow something through ▪ ↑follow something up ▪ ↑follow through
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
Old English folgian, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch volgen and German folgen.
Thesaurus:
follow verb
1. T, I
•I think we're being followed.
chase • • tail • • trail • • track • • stalk • • hunt • |formal pursue •
Opp: lead
follow/chase/pursue sb/sth into sth
follow/chase/tail/trail/track/stalk/pursue a person
follow/chase/tail/track/stalk/hunt/pursue an animal
2. T, I (not used in the progressive tenses)
•A new proposal followed on from the discussions.
result • • stem from sth • |formal ensue • • arise •
follow/result/stem/ensue/arise from sth
follow/result/arise out of sth
sth follows/results/stems/arises from the fact that…
3. T
•He has trouble following instructions.
obey • • carry sth out • • act on/upon sth • • respect • • comply • |formal adhere to sth • • abide by sth • • observe •
follow/obey/carry out/act on instructions/orders
follow/carry out/act on a recommendation
follow/obey/respect/comply with/adhere to/abide by/observe the conventions/rules/regulations/law
4. T, I
•Don't follow my example and rush into marriage.
copy • • imitate • • follow in sb's footsteps • • model yourself on sb/sth • |formal emulate • • mimic • |especially business journalism follow suit •
follow/copy/imitate/emulate a style
follow/copy/mimic sb/sth exactly
follow/copy sb/sth faithfully/slavishly
5. I, T (not used in the progressive tenses)
•Sorry— I don't quite follow.
•The plot is almost impossible to follow.
understand • • grasp • |especially spoken see • • get • |formal comprehend •
follow/understand/grasp/see/get/comprehend what/why/how…
follow/understand instructions
be easy/difficult/hard to follow/understand/grasp/see/comprehend
Synonyms:
understand
see • get • follow • grasp • comprehend
These words all mean to know or realize sth, for example why sth happens, how sth works or what sth means.
understand • to know or realize the meaning of words, a language, what sb says, etc; to know or realize how or why sth 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 sb is saying, how sth works or how important sth is: ▪ ‘It opens like this.’ ‘ Oh, ▪ I see ▪.’ ◇ ▪ Oh yes, ▪ I see what you mean ▪.
get • (informal) to understand a joke, what sb 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 sth: ▪ 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 sth: ▪ They failed to grasp the importance of his words.
understand or grasp?
You can use understand or grasp for the action of realizing the meaning or importance of sth for the first time: ▪ It's a difficult concept for children to understand/grasp. Only understand can be used to talk about languages, words or writing: I don't grasp French/the instructions.
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 sth)
to be easy/difficult/hard to understand/see/follow/grasp/comprehend
to fully understand/see/grasp/comprehend sth
Example Bank:
•As she walked home, she had the feeling she was being followed.
•Banks are expected to follow the building societies in raising mortgage rates.
•Follow my instructions very carefully.
•He wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps and be a ballroom dancer.
•His argument was difficult to follow.
•How do your feel your writing follows in the tradition of the South?
•I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow you.
•It does not necessarily follow that sleep loss would cause these symptoms.
•It wasn't in his nature to follow blindly.
•Johnson finished first, closely followed by Stevens and Higgins.
•More information will follow shortly.
•Other companies are likely to follow Z-Quest in applying for an exemption.
•Ray came out of the bedroom, Mary following close behind.
•Several conclusions follow on from his statement.
•She beckoned him to follow her.
•She followed blindly, stumbling over stones in her path.
•The dog followed obediently at her heels.
•The film follows the book faithfully.
•The next programme will follow shortly.
•You go ahead and we'll follow on later.
•in the period immediately following the election
•slavishly following the views of his teachers
•the workers' revolts that followed in the wake of the student uprising
•A period of unrest followed the president's resignation.
•Follow me, please. I'll show you the way.
•He always followed the latest fashions.
•He has trouble following simple instructions.
•I didn't really follow the recipe.
•I don't follow you.
•I don't want you to follow my example and rush into marriage.
•I think we're being followed.
•Our opening hours are as follows…
•She walked in and we all followed.
•Sorry— I don't quite follow.
•The movie can be quite hard to follow in parts.
•The plot is almost impossible to follow.
•There followed a short silence.
•Why didn't you follow my advice?
|
|
