Definition of: follow

(fol′ō) v.t.
1. To go or come after and in the same direction.
2. To succeed in time or order.
3. To seek to overtake or capture; pursue.
4. To accompany; attend.
5. To hold to the course of: to follow a road.
6. To conform to; act in accordance with.
7. To move or act in the cause of; be under the leadership or authority of: He follows Plato.
8. To work at as a profession or livelihood; employ oneself in: men who follow the sea.
9. To come after as a consequence or result: The effect follows the cause.
10. To use or take as a model; imitate: to follow an example.
11. To watch or observe closely; be attentive to: to follow sports.
12. To understand the course, sequence, or meaning of, as an explanation.
13. To strive after; try to attain or obtain: to follow one's star.
—v.i.
14. To move or come after or in the direction of something preceding in time, sequence, or motion.
15. To attend; understand: Do you follow?
16. To come as a result or consequence.
—to follow out
1. To follow to the end, as an argument.
2. To comply with, as orders or instructions.
—to follow suit
1. In card games, to play a card of the suit led.
2. To follow another's example.
—to follow through
1. To swing to the full extent of the stroke after having struck the ball, as in tennis or golf.
2. To perform fully; complete.
—to follow up
1. To pursue closely.
2. To achieve more by acting upon what has already been achieved, as an advantage.
—noun The act of following; specifically, a stroke in billiards that causes the cue ball, after impact, to follow the object ball. [OE folgian] Synonyms (verb): accompany, attend, chase, copy, ensue, heed, imitate, obey, observe, practice, pursue, result, succeed. A servant follows or attends his master, a victorious general may follow the retiring enemy merely to watch and hold him in check; he chases or pursues with intent to overtake and attack; the chase is closer and hotter than the pursuit. (Compare synonyms for HUNT.) One event may follow another either with or without special connection; if it ensues, there is some orderly connection; if it results from another, there is some relation of effect, consequence, or inference. A clerk observes his employer's directions. A child obeys his parent's commands, follows or copies his example, imitates his speech and manners. The compositor follows copy; the incoming official succeeds the outgoing official. See IMITATE. Antonyms: anticipate, direct, flee, guide, lead, pass, precede, surpass.