1go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead); move or travel behind:she went back into the house, and Ben followed her [no object]:the men followed in another car
go after (someone) in order to observe or monitor them:the KGB man followed her everywhere
archaic strive after; aim at:I follow fame
go along (a route or path).
(of a route or path) go in the same direction as or parallel to (another):the road follows the track of the railway line
trace the movement or direction of:she followed his gaze, peering into the gloom
2come after in time or order:the six years that followed his restoration [no object]:the rates are as follows
happen after (something else) as a consequence:raucous laughter followed the ribald remarkthe announcement followed on from the collapse of the merchant bank [no object]:retribution soon followed
[no object] be a logical consequence of something:it thus follows from this equation that the value must be negative
[with object and adverbial] (of a person) do something after (something else):they follow their March show with four UK dates next month
have (a dish or course) after another or others during a meal:turkey was followed by dessert
3act according to (an instruction or precept):he has difficulty in following written instructions
conform to:the film faithfully follows Shakespeare’s plot
act according to the lead or example of (someone):he follows Aristotle in believing this
treat as a teacher or guide:those who seek to follow Jesus Christ
4pay close attention to:I’ve been following this discussion closely
take an active interest in or be a supporter of:supporters who have followed the club through thick and thin
(of a book, film, programme, etc.) be concerned with or trace the development of:the book follows the life and career of Henry Clay
track (a person, group, organization, etc.) on a social media website or application:if you’ve been following me on Facebook recently you may have seen a bunch of different posts about surgery and back troubleI don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter any more
understand the meaning or tendency of (a speaker or argument):I still don’t follow you
5practise (a trade or profession).
undertake or carry out (a course of action or study):she followed a strict diet
(in bridge, whist, and other card games) play a card of the suit led.
conform to another’s actions:Spain cut its rates by half a per cent but no other country has followed suit
follow on
(of a cricket team) be required to bat again immediately after failing in their first innings to reach a score within a set number of runs of the score made by their opponents.
follow through
(in golf, cricket, and other sports) continue the movement of a stroke after the ball has been struck.
follow something through
continue an action or task to its conclusion.
follow something up
pursue or investigate something further:I decided to follow up the letters with phone calls
