follow (fol¦low)

verb

• 1go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead); move or travel behind: she went back into the house, and Ben followed her [no object]: the men followed in another car
• go after (someone) in order to observe or monitor them: the KGB man followed her everywhere
• archaic strive after; aim at: I follow fame
• go along (a route or path).
• (of a route or path) go in the same direction as or parallel to (another): the road follows the track of the railway line
• trace the movement or direction of: she followed his gaze, peering into the gloom

• 2come after in time or order: the six years that followed his restoration [no object]: the rates are as follows
• happen after (something else) as a consequence: raucous laughter followed the ribald remark the announcement followed on from the collapse of the merchant bank [no object]: retribution soon followed
• [no object] be a logical consequence of something: it thus follows from this equation that the value must be negative
• [with object and adverbial] (of a person) do something after (something else): they follow their March show with four UK dates next month
• have (a dish or course) after another or others during a meal: turkey was followed by dessert

• 3act according to (an instruction or precept): he has difficulty in following written instructions
• conform to: the film faithfully follows Shakespeare’s plot
• act according to the lead or example of (someone): he follows Aristotle in believing this
• treat as a teacher or guide: those who seek to follow Jesus Christ

• 4pay close attention to: I’ve been following this discussion closely
• take an active interest in or be a supporter of: supporters who have followed the club through thick and thin
• (of a book, film, programme, etc.) be concerned with or trace the development of: the book follows the life and career of Henry Clay
• track (a person, group, or organization) on a social networking site: if you’ve been following me on Facebook recently you may have seen a bunch of different posts about surgery and back trouble I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter any more
• understand the meaning or tendency of (a speaker or argument): I still don’t follow you

• 5practise (a trade or profession).
• undertake or carry out (a course of action or study): she followed a strict diet