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Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
follow up vb (transitive, adverb)- to pursue or investigate (a person, evidence, etc) closely
- to continue (action) after a beginning, esp to increase its effect
n follow-up - something done to reinforce an initial action
- (as modifier): a follow-up letter
- a routine examination of a patient at various intervals after medical or surgical treatment
ˈfol•low-ˌup,
n. [countable]
- an action that serves to increase or monitor the effectiveness of a previous one:Come back to the doctor's office for a follow-up.
- Journalisma news story providing additional information on an earlier story:wanted to do a follow-up but her editor said not to.
adj. [before a noun]
- designed or serving to follow up:a follow-up interview.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026fol•low /ˈfɑloʊ/USA pronunciation
v.
- to come after in sequence or order;
succeed: [~ + object]Night follows day, and day follows night.[no object]You lead and I'll follow.
- to happen after something else;
come next as an event or result: [no obj]:After the defeat, great disorder followed.[ ~ + obj]:Flooding followed the storm.
- to go or come after;
move behind in the same direction: [~ + object]Drive ahead, and I'll follow you.[no object]Drive ahead and I'll follow.
- to conform to, comply with, or act in accordance with;
obey:[~ + object]to follow orders.
- to move forward along:[~ + object]We followed the road to Gaston.
- to go in pursuit of:[~ + object]The police followed the fleeing suspects.
- to engage in or be concerned with as a pursuit:[~ + object]to follow an ideal.
- to watch the development or progress of:[~ + object]to follow the news.
- to keep up with and understand (an argument, story, etc.): [~ + object][not: be + ~-ing]I can't follow your argument. Do you follow me?[no object]That's the explanation; can you follow?
- to result logically as an effect: [no object][not: be + ~-ing]That can't be right —it just doesn't follow.[~ + from + object]That conclusion does not follow from your premise.[It + ~ + that clause]It follows naturally that they must be innocent.
- follow through, [no object]
- to carry out fully, such as a stroke in golf or tennis.
- to continue an effort, plan, proposal, policy, etc., to its completion:He followed through on every assignment we gave him.
- follow up:
- to increase the effectiveness of by further action or repetition: [~ + up + object]He followed up the aerobics with stretching exercises.[~ + object + up]followed them up with stretching exercises.
- [~ + up (+ on) + object] to pursue:I'd like to follow up (on) that question.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026fol•low-up
(fol′ō up′),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of following up.
- an action or thing that serves to increase the effectiveness of a previous one, as a second or subsequent letter, phone call, or visit.
- JournalismAlso called follow.
- a news story providing additional information on a story or article previously published.
- Also called sidebar, supplementary story. a minor news story used to supplement a related story of major importance. Cf. feature story (def. 1), human-interest story, shirttail.
adj.
- designed or serving to follow up, esp. to increase the effectiveness of a previous action:a follow-up interview; a follow-up offer.
- of or pertaining to action that follows an initial treatment, course of study, etc.:follow-up care for mental patients; a follow-up survey.
- noun, nominal, adjective, adjectival use of verb, verbal phrase follow up 1920–25
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026fol•low
(fol′ō),USA pronunciation v.t.
- to come after in sequence, order of time, etc.:The speech follows the dinner.
- to go or come after;
move behind in the same direction:Drive ahead, and I'll follow you.
- to accept as a guide or leader;
accept the authority of or give allegiance to:Many Germans followed Hitler.
- to conform to, comply with, or act in accordance with;
obey:to follow orders; to follow advice.
- to imitate or copy;
use as an exemplar:They follow the latest fads.
- to move forward along (a road, path, etc.):Follow this road for a mile.
- to come after as a result or consequence;
result from:Reprisals often follow victory.
- to go after or along with (a person) as companion.
- to go in pursuit of:to follow an enemy.
- to try for or attain to:to follow an ideal.
- to engage in or be concerned with as a pursuit:He followed the sea as his true calling.
- to watch the movements, progress, or course of:to follow a bird in flight.
- to watch the development of or keep up with:to follow the news.
- to keep up with and understand (an argument, story, etc.):Do you follow me?
v.i.
- to come next after something else in sequence, order of time, etc.
- to happen or occur after something else;
come next as an event:After the defeat great disorder followed.
- to attend or serve.
- to go or come after a person or thing in motion.
- to result as an effect;
occur as a consequence:It follows then that he must be innocent.
- follow out, to carry to a conclusion;
execute:They followed out their orders to the letter.
- Games, Idioms follow suit. See suit (def. 13).
- follow through:
- to carry out fully, as a stroke of a club in golf, a racket in tennis, etc.
- to continue an effort, plan, proposal, policy, etc., to its completion.
- follow up:
- to pursue closely and tenaciously.
- to increase the effectiveness of by further action or repetition.
- to pursue to a solution or conclusion.
n.
- the act of following.
- Games, Sport[Billiards, Pool.]See follow shot (def. 2).
- Journalismfollow-up (def. 3).
- bef. 900; Middle English folwen, Old English folgian; cognate with Old Saxon folgon, Old High German folgēn, folgōn (German folgen)
3. obey. 4. heed, observe. 8. accompany, attend. 9. pursue, chase; trail, track, trace. 19. arise, proceed. Follow, ensue, result, succeed imply coming after something else, in a natural sequence. Follow is the general word:We must wait to see what follows. A detailed account follows.Ensue implies a logical sequence, what might be expected normally to come after a given act, cause, etc.:When the power lines were cut, a paralysis of transportation ensued.Result emphasizes the connection between a cause or event and its effect, consequence, or outcome:The accident resulted in injuries to those involved.Succeed implies coming after in time, particularly coming into a title, office, etc.:Formerly the oldest son succeeded to his father's title.
1. precede. 2. 3. lead. 4. disregard. 9. flee.
'follow up' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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