WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hu′man-in′terest sto′ry
(hyo̅o̅′mən in′tər ist, -trist or, often, yo̅o̅′-),USA pronunciation
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- Journalisma story or report, as in a newspaper or on a newscast, designed to engage attention and sympathy by enabling one to identify readily with the people, problems, and situations described.
- 1925–30
ˈfol•low-ˌup,
n. [countable]
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- 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.
fol•low-up
(fol′ō up′),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
- 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
'human-interest story' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):