Follow — Defs

01 v. t. 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.

imp. & p. p. Followed; p. pr. & vb. n. Following

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.” — Shak.
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.” — Ex. xiv. 17.
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.” — Milton.

“Follow peace with all men.” — Heb. xii. 14.

“It is most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to follow their appetites.” — J. Edwards.
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.” — Hooker.
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.” — Dryden.
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!” — Shak.

“O Antony! I have followed thee to this.” — Shak.

Phrases & compounds

Follow board — a board on which the pattern and the flask lie while the sand is rammed into the flask.

To follow the hounds — to hunt with dogs.

To follow suit — 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.

Syn. To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany; succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain.

-- To Follow, Pursue. To follow (v.t.) denotes simply to go after; to pursue denotes to follow with earnestness, and with a view to attain some definite object; as, a hound pursues the deer. So a person follows a companion whom he wishes to overtake on a journey; the officers of justice pursue a felon who has escaped from prison.

02 v. i. 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.

1.
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.

Syn. To Follow, Succeed, Ensue.

To follow (v.i.) means simply to come after; as, a crowd followed. To succeed means to come after in some regular series or succession; as, day succeeds to day, and night to night. To ensue means to follow by some established connection or principle of sequence. As wave follows wave, revolution succeeds to revolution; and nothing ensues but accumulated wretchedness.

03 n. The art or process of following; specif., in some games, as billiards, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it. Als…

1.
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.