follow

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”).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.
   Follow that car!
   She left the room and I followed.
   Ambassador Udina: The other species are scared. They've never faced anything like this before and they don't know what to do. They want us to step forward. They believe in humanity because of you. Ambassador Udina: Your ruthless pursuit of Saren and the geth, your defiance of the Council -- that's what humans are capable of! That's how we can defeat the Reapers! Ambassador Udina: The others will follow us, Shepard. They know we're their only hope. We will have a human Council with a human Chairman. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel
2. (transitive, intransitive) To go or come after in a sequence.
   B follows A in the alphabet.
   We both ordered the soup, with roast beef to follow.
3. (transitive) To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).
   Follow these instructions to the letter.
4. (transitive) To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).
5. (transitive) To understand, to pay attention to.
   Do you follow me?
6. (transitive) To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.
   I followed the incumbent throughout the election.
   My friends don't regularly follow the news.
7. (social media, transitive) To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.
   If you want to see more of our articles, follow us on Twitter.
8. (transitive, intransitive) To be a logical consequence of something.
   It follows that if two numbers are not equal then one is larger than the other.
   If you don't practise proper hygiene, illness is sure to follow.
9. (transitive) To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.

noun

1. (sometimes attributive) In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it.
   a follow shot
2. (social media) The act of following another user's online activity.
   It doesn't take too many follows to become overwhelmed with the deluge of content on Twitter. 2012, Brett Petersel, Esther Schindler, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Twitter Marketing
   Social media is supervisual, and there's nothing more shareable than images, so this is a way to increase shares and likes and follows. 2016, Brooke Warner, Green-Light Your Book