From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
follow
v 1: to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings
followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow
the guide through the museum" [ant: precede]
2: be later in time; "Tuesday always follows Monday" [syn:
postdate] [ant: predate]
3: come as a logical consequence; follow logically; "It follows
that your assertion is false"; "the theorem falls out
nicely" [syn: fall out]
4: travel along a certain course; "follow the road"; "follow
the trail" [syn: travel along]
5: act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes;
"He complied with my instructions"; "You must comply or
else!"; "Follow these simple rules"; "abide by the rules"
[syn: comply, abide by]
6: come after in time, as a result; "A terrible tsunami
followed the earthquake" [syn: come after]
7: behave in accordance or in agreement with; "Follow a
pattern"; "Follow my example" [syn: conform to]
8: be next; "Mary plays best, with John and Sue following"
9: choose and follow; as of theories, ideas, policies,
strategies or plans; "She followed the feminist movement";
"The candidate espouses Republican ideals" [syn: adopt,
espouse]
10: to bring something about at a later time than; "She followed
dinner with a brandy"; "He followed his lecture with a
question and answer period"
11: imitate in behavior; take as a model; "Teenagers follow
their friends in everything" [syn: take after]
12: follow, discover, or ascertain the course of development of
something; "We must follow closely the economic
development is Cuba" ; "trace the student's progress"
[syn: trace]
13: follow with the eyes or the mind; "Keep an eye on the baby,
please!"; "The world is watching Sarajevo"; "She followed
the men with the binoculars" [syn: watch, observe,
watch over, keep an eye on]
14: be the successor (of); "Carter followed Ford"; "Will Charles
succeed to the throne?" [syn: succeed, come after]
[ant: precede]
15: perform an accompaniment to; "The orchestra could barely
follow the frequent pitch changes of the soprano" [syn:
play along, accompany]
16: keep informed; "He kept up on his country's foreign
policies" [syn: keep up, keep abreast]
17: to be the product or result; "Melons come from a vine";
"Understanding comes from experience" [syn: come]
18: accept and follow the leadership or command or guidance of;
"Let's follow our great helmsman!"; "She followed a guru
for years"
19: adhere to or practice; "These people still follow the laws
of their ancient religion"
20: work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a
specific function; "He is a herpetologist"; "She is our
resident philosopher" [syn: be]
21: keep under surveillance; "The police had been following him
for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in the
bombing" [syn: surveil, survey]
22: follow in or as if in pursuit; "The police car pursued the
suspected attacker"; "Her bad deed followed her and
haunted her dreams all her life" [syn: pursue]
23: grasp the meaning; "Can you follow her argument?"; "When he
lectures, I cannot follow"
24: keep to; "Stick to your principles"; "stick to the diet"
[syn: stick to, stick with]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Follow \Fol"low\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Followed; p. pr. & vb.
n. Following.][OE. foluwen, folwen, folgen, AS. folgian,
fylgean, fylgan; akin to D. volgen, OHG. folg[=e]n, G.
folgen, Icel. fylgja, Sw. f["o]lja, Dan. f["o]lge, and perh.
to E. folk.]
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.
[1913 Webster]
It waves me forth again; I'll follow it. --Shak.
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2. To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to
pursue; to prosecute.
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I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they
shall follow them. --Ex. xiv. 17.
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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.
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Approve the best, and follow what I approve.
--Milton.
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Follow peace with all men. --Heb. xii.
14.
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It is most agreeable to some men to follow their
reason; and to others to follow their appetites.
--J. Edwards.
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4. To copy after; to take as an example.
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We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we
like not, than in defects resemble them whom we
love. --Hooker.
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5. To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
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6. To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference
from a premise.
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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.
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He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
--Dryden.
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8. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely,
as a profession or calling.
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O, had I but followed the arts! --Shak.
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O Antony! I have followed thee to this. --Shak.
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Follow board (Founding), a board on which the pattern and
the flask lie while the sand is rammed into the flask.
--Knight.
To follow the hounds, to hunt with dogs.
To follow suit (Card Playing), 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: Syn.- To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany;
succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain.
Usage: - 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.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Follow \Fol"low\, 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.
Syn: To Follow, Succeed, Ensue.
Usage: 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.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Follow \Fol"low\, 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. Also used adjectively; as, follow shot.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]