Follow
Follow , transitive verb
[Old English foluwen, folwen, folgen, Anglo-Saxon folgian, fylgean, fylgan; akin to Dutch volgen, Old High German folgēn, German folgen, Icelandic fylgja, Swedish folja, Danish folge, and perh. to English folk.]
1.
To go or come after; to move behind in the same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend.
It waves me forth again; I'll follow it.
2.
To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute.
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them.
3.
To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow good advice.
Approve the best, and follow what I approve
Follow peace with all men.
It is most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to follow their appetites.
4.
To copy after; to take as an example.
We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we like not, than in defects resemble them whom we love.
5.
To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
6.
To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference from a premise.
7.
To watch, as a receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument.
He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
8.
To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.
O, had I but followed the arts!
O Antony! I have followed thee to this.
Collocations (4)
Follow board (Founding) , a board on which the pattern and the flask lie while the sand is rammed into the flask. — Knight
To follow the hounds , to hunt with dogs.
To follow suit (Card Playing) , to play a card of the same suit as the leading card; hence, colloquially, to follow an example set.
To follow up , to pursue indefatigably.
Follow , intransitive verb
To go or come after; -- used in the various senses of the transitive verb: To pursue; to attend; to accompany; to be a result; to imitate.
Follow , noun
The art or process of following; specif., in some games, as billiards, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it. Also used adjectively; as, follow shot.