follow

English Online Dictionary. What means follow‎? What does follow mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English folwen, folȝen, folgen, from Old English folgian (“to follow, pursue”), from Proto-West Germanic *folgēn, from Proto-Germanic *fulgāną (“to follow”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒləʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑloʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɒləʊ
• Hyphenation: fol‧low

Verb

follow (third-person singular simple present follows, present participle following, simple past and past participle followed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.

   Synonyms: trail, tail

   Antonyms: guide, lead
2. (transitive, intransitive) To go or come after in a sequence.

   Synonyms: succeed; see also Thesaurus:succeed

   Antonyms: precede; see also Thesaurus:precede

3. (transitive) To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).

   Synonym: pursue
4. (transitive) To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).
5. (transitive) To understand, to pay attention to.

6. (transitive) To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.

8. (social media, transitive) To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.

   Antonym: unfollow

9. (transitive, intransitive) To be a logical consequence of something.

   Synonym: ensue

10. (transitive) To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• chase (verb)

Noun

follow (plural follows)

1. (sometimes attributive) In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it.

2. (social media) The act of following another user's online activity.

Anagrams

• Wollof

Chinese

Alternative forms

• 科勞 / 科劳 (fo¹ lou⁴)

Etymology

From English follow or clipping of English follower.

Pronunciation

Noun

follow

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, social media) follower count (Classifier: 個／个 c)

Synonyms

• fol (fo¹)
• follower (fo¹ lou⁴ waa⁴, fo¹ lou⁴ aa⁴)

Verb

follow

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, social media) to follow

Synonyms

• fol (fo¹)

Related terms

• unfol (an⁶ fo¹)

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English follow.

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): /fɔ.lɔ.wœʁ/

Noun

follow m (plural follows)

1. (Internet) following (An account which is followed)

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): /fɔ.lɔw/, /fɔ.lo/

Verb

follow

1. (Internet) to follow (on Twitter and similar sites)

   Synonyms: follower, suivre, s’abonner

   Antonyms: défollow, défollower, se désabonner