follow

follow
fol|low [ `falou ] verb ***
▸ 1 walk/drive behind someone
▸ 2 happen after something else
▸ 3 watch/listen carefully
▸ 4 obey order/advice
▸ 5 go along river/road etc.
▸ 6 watch progress
▸ 7 understand something difficult
▸ 8 do same as someone else
▸ 9 do job or spend life
▸ 10 believe in religion etc.
▸ 11 happen in a pattern
▸ 12 when something must be true
▸ 13 about book/movie etc.
▸ + PHRASES
1. ) intransitive or transitive to walk, drive, etc. behind someone, when you are going in the same direction as them:
Ralph set off down the hill, and I followed.
follow someone up/down/to/through/into etc.: Jim opened the door and followed me down the hall.
a ) transitive to walk, drive, etc. closely behind someone in order to watch them:
I felt sure that someone was following me.
I think we're being followed.
2. ) intransitive or transitive to happen or come after something else:
The six o'clock news follows shortly.
the days/weeks/years etc. that followed: In the weeks that followed the situation was very tense.
be followed by something: The wedding will be followed by a reception.
We had soup followed by lasagna and salad.
to follow (=available to be eaten next): There's apple pie and ice cream to follow.
there follows something: There followed seven months of hard negotiations.
a ) to happen as a direct result of something else:
Wild celebrations followed the announcement.
They were warned that if the rebels did not surrender, severe reprisals would follow.
b ) transitive if you follow one thing with another, you do the second after you have done the first:
She followed the success of her first book with another remarkable novel.
3. ) transitive to watch where someone or something is going:
His eyes followed the car to the end of the driveway.
a ) to listen carefully to what someone is saying:
He followed every word of the trial.
4. ) transitive to obey an order or do what someone has advised you to do:
You must follow a few simple guidelines.
follow someone's advice/suggestion: She refused to follow our advice.
follow directions/instructions/orders/rules: The manufacturer's instructions should always be followed carefully.
a ) transitive to go where signs and directions tell you to go:
We followed Joe's directions and found the house easily.
Follow the signs for Lancaster.
5. ) transitive to go along a road, river, etc. in the same direction as it does:
Follow the road down the hill into an intersection.
a ) to go along a path parallel to something:
The road follows the old stream bed.
6. ) transitive to be interested in the progress or development of someone or something:
My father followed the Yankees for forty years.
Have you been following the election campaign?
7. ) transitive often in negatives or questions to understand something, especially something long or complicated:
I couldn't follow what Professor Hope was saying.
I'm sorry, I don't quite follow you.
easy/difficult to follow: Their system is pretty easy to follow.
8. ) intransitive or transitive to do the same thing that someone else has done:
follow someone into something (=decide to do the same job as someone else): She decided not to follow her mother into banking.
follow someone's example/lead: The U.S. may follow Canada's example by banning these products.
Other students followed her lead and boycotted classes.
follow suit (=do what someone else has done): They began to offer takeout food, and other restaurants followed suit.
9. ) transitive if you follow a profession or way of life, you do that job or spend your life in that way
10. ) transitive to believe what a religion or system of ideas teaches and do the things that it tells you to do:
I follow the teachings of the Buddha.
those who follow Christianity
11. ) transitive to happen according to a particular pattern or course:
All the murders have followed the same grisly pattern.
Up to now, ozone losses have tended to follow a two-year cycle.
12. ) intransitive if something follows, it must be true because of something else that is true:
follow from: Two important implications follow from this.
it follows (that): It does not necessarily follow that all criminals come from deprived backgrounds.
13. ) transitive to deal with the progress or development of someone or something in a book, movie, or television program:
The cartoon follows the adventures of an ant named Flick.
as follows
used when you are going to give more details about something
follow the crowd/herd
to do something because most other people are doing it
follow your nose
1. ) to do what you feel is right in a particular situation, although you are not certain
2. ) to go straight forward, without turning:
Just follow your nose until you see the school parking lot.
follow (hard) on the heels of something
to happen very soon after something else:
The factory closure follows hard on the heels of several others.
=> FOOTSTEP
,follow a`round phrasal verb transitive
follow someone around to follow someone wherever they go, especially in a way that annoys them:
Henry's been following me around like a puppy!
,follow `through phrasal verb
1. ) intransitive or transitive to continue doing something until it has been completed:
Jack is always starting projects, but he rarely follows through.
follow through with: The government needs to follow through with some very necessary reforms.
2. ) intransitive to continue the movement of your arm or leg after you have hit, kicked, or thrown a ball in a sport
,follow `up phrasal verb
1. ) intransitive or transitive to try to find out more about something or do something more to deal with it:
They never followed my complaint up.
The police are now following up some new leads.
2. ) transitive follow up with to do something in addition to what you have already done, in order to be certain of achieving your goal:
Follow up the phone call with a written confirmation.

Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • follow — [ˈfɒləʊ ǁ ˈfɑːloʊ] verb 1. [intransitive, transitive] to come or happen afterwards: • The company s decision to diversify follows a sharp decline in demand for its products. • As the recession worsened, further closures followed. 2.… …   Financial and business terms

  • Follow-on — is a term used in the sport of cricket to describe a situation where the team that bats second is forced to take its second batting innings immediately after its first, because the team was not able to get close enough (within 200 runs) to the… …   Wikipedia

  • Follow — Fol low, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Followed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Following}.][OE. foluwen, folwen, folgen, AS. folgian, fylgean, fylgan; akin to D. volgen, OHG. folg[=e]n, G. folgen, Icel. fylgja, Sw. f[ o]lja, Dan. f[ o]lge, and perh. to E. folk.] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • follow — [fäl′ō] vt. [ME folwen < OE folgian, akin to Ger folgen & (?) Welsh olafiad, follower] 1. to come or go after 2. to go after in order to catch; chase; pursue 3. to go along [follow the right road] 4. to come or occur after in time, in a series …   English World dictionary

  • follow — vb 1 Follow, succeed, ensue, supervene mean to come after someone or, more often, something. Although all of these verbs occur as transitives and intransitives, ensue and supervene are more commonly intransitive verbs. Follow is the general term… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • follow-up — follow up1 adj [only before noun] done in order to find out more or do more about something →↑follow up ▪ a follow up study on children and poverty follow up 2 follow up2 n 1.) [U and C] something that is done to make sure that earlier actions… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • follow — ► VERB 1) move or travel behind. 2) go after (someone) so as to observe or monitor them. 3) go along (a route or path). 4) come after in time or order. 5) be a logical consequence. 6) (also follow on from) occur as a result of …   English terms dictionary

  • follow-up — follow ,up noun 1. ) count or uncount something that is done in order to complete something: Everyone liked my proposal, but there hasn t been any follow up. The researchers conducted a follow up study two years later. a ) something that is done… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • follow-up — n. 1. a second (or subsequent) action to increase the effectiveness of an initial action. Also used attributively; as a follow up visit. Note: A follow up may be of various types. After a medical examination, a second examination (or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • follow — fol·low vt: to be in accordance with (a prior decision): accept as authoritative see also precedent compare overrule Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • follow — (v.) O.E. folgian, fylgan follow, accompany; follow after, pursue, also obey, apply oneself to a practice or calling, from W.Gmc. *fulg (Cf. O.S. folgon, O.Fris. folgia, M.Du. volghen, Du. volgen, O.H.G. folgen, Ger. folgen, O.N. fylgja to follow …   Etymology dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”