followed; following; follows
1
: to go, proceed, or come after
followed the guide
2
a
: to engage in as a calling or way of life : pursue
wheat-growing is generally followed here
b
: to walk or proceed along
follow a path
3
a
: to be or act in accordance with
follow directions
b
: to accept as authority : obey
followed his conscience
4
a
: to pursue in an effort to overtake
Police followed the robbers attempting to escape.
b
: to seek to attain
follow knowledge
5
: to come into existence or take place as a result or consequence of
disaster followed the blunder
6
a
: to come or take place after in time, sequence, or order
A juggling act followed the singer.
b
: to cause to be followed
followed dinner with a liqueur
7
: to copy after : imitate
the new building follows the facades and roof lines of the original buildings—
Maxwell Mays
Maxwell Mays8
a
: to watch steadily
followed the flight of the ball
b
: to keep the mind on
follow a speech
c
: to attend closely to : keep abreast of
followed his career with interest
d
: to understand the sense or logic of (something, such as a line of thought)
I don't quite follow your thinking.
e
: to subscribe to the feed of (someone or something) especially on social media
Follow us on Facebook/Twitter.
1
: to go or come after a person or thing in place, time, or sequence
If one sheep goes through the gate, the rest will follow.
2
: to result or occur as a consequence, effect, or inference
Just because he's done some bad things, does it follow that he is a bad person?
Synonyms
Examples of follow in a Sentence
Verb
She followed us into the kitchen.
The dog followed the children home.
The exit is right this way. Just follow me.
The children went home and the dog followed behind.
If one sheep goes through the gate, the rest will follow.
The number 15 follows 14.
Her accident was followed by a long period of recovery.
First came the student speeches, and the presentation of awards followed.
Rioting followed the unjust verdict.
If you work hard, success will surely follow.
Recent Examples on the Web
Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
Bucky Irving opened the fourth quarter with a 14-yard run on third-and-2, then followed that with a 12-yard touchdown dash past six defenders for the Bucs’ first lead of the game, 17-13.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
Two waves of bombing followed, one late Wednesday and another early Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Veteran New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser, who started at the tabloid in 1989, is once again going after lifestyle guru Martha Stewart following the release of the new Netflix documentary Martha.
—David MacK, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for follow 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
During the rapprochement between China and the United States in the 1970s (which followed the split between China and the Soviet Union), North Korea hosted Soviet naval ships in its ports and allowed Soviet fighter jets to enter North Korean airspace.
—Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
Bucky Irving opened the fourth quarter with a 14-yard run on third-and-2, then followed that with a 12-yard touchdown dash past six defenders for the Bucs’ first lead of the game, 17-13.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
Two waves of bombing followed, one late Wednesday and another early Thursday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Veteran New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser, who started at the tabloid in 1989, is once again going after lifestyle guru Martha Stewart following the release of the new Netflix documentary Martha.
—David MacK, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for follow
Dictionary Entries Near follow
Cite this Entry
“Follow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/follow. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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