follow
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++ldoce_116_ffol·low /ˈfɒləʊ $ ˈfɑːloʊ/ ●●● S1 W1 verb 1 go after 在⋯之后去 [intransitive, transitive]FOLLOW to go, walk, drive etc behind or after someone else 跟着，跟随 Are those men following us? 那些人在跟着我们吗？ The patrol car followed the BMW for a few miles and then lost it. 巡逻车跟了那辆宝马几英里，后来就跟丢了。 Tom’s already gone out to Rome and his wife and children will follow shortly. 汤姆已经去罗马了，他的妻儿很快就会跟着去。follow somebody into/to etc something Peggy followed her out onto the landing. 佩姬跟着她出来走到楼梯平台上。2 happen after 在…后发生 [intransitive, transitive]AFTER to happen or do something after something else 紧随其后；在…后发生[做] The agreement followed months of negotiation. 经过数月的谈判，协议达成了。 The assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 was followed by that of Robert Kennedy. 1968年马丁•路德•金遭暗杀，之后是罗伯特•肯尼迪。there follows something After weeks of intense fighting, there followed a brief period of calm. 几个星期的激战之后，接下来是短暂的平静。 Most EU countries have signed the agreement and the US is expected to follow shortly (=soon). 大多数欧盟国家已签署这份协议，预计美国也会紧随其后。 → following33 come after 在…之后来 [intransitive, transitive]AFTER to come directly after something else in a series, list, or order 紧随而来；位于…之后，在…之后 → following The chapters that follow deal mainly with mathematics. 之后的几章主要讲数学。 In English, the letter Q is always followed by U. 英语中，字母Q之后总跟着字母U。 We had vegetable casserole with a fruit salad to follow (=as part of a meal). 我们吃了蔬菜砂锅，然后是水果色拉。there follows something There followed several pages of incomprehensible statistics. 接下来是数页难懂的统计资料。4 as follows LISTused to introduce a list of things that you will mention next 如下 The winners are as follows: in third place, Mandy Johnson; in second place ... 获胜者如下: 第三名，曼迪•约翰逊；第二名…5 do what SB says 按某人说的做THINK something/HAVE A THOUGHT [transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it 听从，遵循 He followed the doctor’s advice and had no further trouble. 他听从了医生的建议，就没有再出现问题。 Follow the instructions very carefully when filling in the form. 认真地按照说明填写表格。 They followed the plan that Elizabeth had worked out. 他们采用了伊丽莎白制订的计划。6 follow the signs/somebody’s directions ADVISEto go somewhere by a particular way according to road signs or to what someone has told you 跟着路标/某人指引的方向 Just follow the signs for the airport. 跟着机场方向的路标走就行了。 I followed Brown’s directions and found the farm quite easily. 我按着布朗指的路，很容易就找到了农场。7 do the same thing 做同样的事 [intransitive, transitive]IMITATE to do the same thing as someone else 跟风；仿效 Some state schools follow the example of private schools in asking parents to donate money. 有些公立学校仿效私立学校的做法，要求家长捐款。 Environmentalists are urging the government to follow the lead of Scandinavian countries in this matter. 环保主义者敦促政府在这件事上仿效斯堪的纳维亚国家的做法。 She’s just like any young woman who enjoys following the latest fashions (=wearing fashionable clothes). 她和任何年轻女性一样，喜欢追随时尚。follow somebody into something (=do the same job as someone else) 追随某人做某事 He does not want to follow his father into a scientific career. 他不想追随父亲从事科学工作。8. believe in STH 信仰某事物 [transitive]RRRELIGION to believe in and obey a particular set of religious or political ideas 信奉〔某一宗教或政治主张〕9 go in particular direction 朝某一方向走 [transitive]10 understand 理解 [intransitive, transitive]UNDERSTAND to understand something such as an explanation or story 理解，明白 SYN grasp11 be a result 成为结果 [intransitive]RESULT to be true as a result of something else that is true 是…的结果12 be interested 感兴趣 [transitive]SUPPORT A TEAM OR PLAYER to be interested in something and in the way it develops 关注13 follow a pattern/course/trend etc IMITATEto continue to happen or develop in a particular way, especially in a way that is expected 按照某一模式/遵循某一进程/按照某种趋势等14 follow suit IMITATEto do the same as someone else has done 跟着做，照着做，仿效15 follow in somebody’s footsteps IMITATEto do the same job or to work or live in the same way as someone else before you, especially someone in your family 步某人的后尘，继承某人〔尤指家人〕的事业16 be about 关于 [transitive]DESCRIBEABOUT to show or describe someone’s life or a series of events, for example in a film or book 〔电影或书等〕呈现，叙述17 be a hard act to follow FOLLOWto be so good or successful at something that it will be difficult for the next person, team etc to be as good 是难以企及的18 watch carefully 仔细观察 [transitive]WATCHLISTEN to carefully watch someone do something 密切注视19 think about/study 考虑/研究 [transitive] to study or think about a particular idea or subject and try to learn something from it 考虑，研究20. follow your instincts/feelings/gut reaction etc to do the thing that you immediately feel is best without needing to stop and think about it 凭直觉/感觉/本能反应等21. follow the herd/crowd IMITATEto do the same thing that most other people are doing, without really thinking about it for yourself – used to show disapproval 随大溜〔含贬义〕22 follow your nose informal23. follow a profession/trade/way of life etc BODto do a particular job or have a particular way of life 从事某种职业/从事某种行业/遵循某种生活方式等n24. [transitive] to look at the messages sent by a particular person using the social networking service Twitter THESAURUSfollow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going 跟随；跟踪The man had followed her home to find out where she lived. 那名男子跟踪她回家，想查出她住在哪里。nFollow that car!nHe hired a detective to follow her.chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape 追逐；追捕Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph. 警方沿高速公路追逐那辆车，时速达到90英里。run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them 追赶某人I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus. 我想追上他道个歉，可他已经上了公共汽车。stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them 〔为猎杀动物或袭击某人而〕悄悄跟踪a tiger stalking its prey 悄悄跟踪猎物的一只老虎He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood. 他有很长一段时间跟踪过住在他附近的女性。pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined way 对…紧追不放The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines. 那艘船一直被敌军潜艇紧紧追击。give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you 追赶〔试图逃脱的人或物〕One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man. 其中一名警察追上去逮捕了那个男子。The calf ran away and the lion gave chase. 小牛奔逃，狮子在后面追。tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go 跟踪，盯梢Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months. 显然,警方已经跟踪恐怖分子好几个月了。track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground 〔根据痕迹〕追踪The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert. 布须曼人在卡拉哈里沙漠追踪羚羊。 PHRASAL VERBS→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
follow• Opening statements may not come until late next week, with witnesses and evidence following.• This advice will not be easy to follow.• Do you follow baseball at all?• Suddenly there was a shout from above, immediately followed by a loud bang.• China's first nuclear test in October 1964 was closely followed by a second in May 1965.• Each chapter is followed by a set of exercises.• Then, through the rain, she heard a scratching sound, followed by a sharp, impatient bark.• In English the letter Q is always followed by a U.• Classes will be held daily from 8 to 10 p. m., followed by practice at local tango bars until midnight.• She complained to the police officer that she was being followed by two strangers.• He followed her home to find out where she lived.• She didn't notice that Jack had followed her into the kitchen.• She could see no sign of anyone following her.• Marlowe looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him.• Follow me and I'll show you where the library is.• My little brother's been following me around all day.• Did you make sure you weren't followed on the way over here?• He was a military man, and therefore used to following orders.• Follow the Iceberg Lake trail until you reach the shore.• Several biotech companies are following the same line of research.• I had difficulty following the story - there are so many different characters.• A full report follows this chapter.• I'll drive, and you can follow us.• It was one of those paintings where the eyes follow you.• I have followed your instructions exactly.follow shortly• Armando Guebuza, expressed the hope that a comprehensive ceasefire agreement would follow shortly.• By 4 p. m. Monday, half the plants were already down and others were expected to follow shortly.• Doing so allows the inflammation to reoccur and an asthma attack can follow shortly.• This may not be possible, so we apologise if any are missing, and guarantee, they will follow shortly.• The House approved it 414-16, and the Senate followed shortly afterward with a vote of 91-5.• His resignation from a job scheduled to end in 2003 followed shortly afterwards.• The next examination was scheduled for April, to be followed shortly by a new intake.• The first telephone call followed shortly thereafter.Follow ... instructions• All you do is highlight the address, click on the Envelope button on the toolbar, and follow the instructions.• Dale says that anyone who is having problems with epoflex is not following the instructions.• You should take the Steamatic, securely re-packaged, to a Post Office and follow the instructions given.• Follow the instructions on each page.• To become a donor, simply click through and follow the instructions on how to print out the card.• Follow the instructions on the can.• Read and follow the instructions on the packet.• Follow the instructions printed on the back of the box.follow somebody into something• Cox's son Robert followed him into the family business.easy/difficult/hard etc to follow• Try to listen to and understand others, even if you find what they say uncongenial or hard to follow. 3.• A little care is needed with the directions in section 7 otherwise the route is easy to follow.• The makeup of their various military coalitions is not always easy to follow.• This advice will not be easy to follow.• Walker gives routes a pitch by pitch description where he feels they are hard to follow.• Mr. Wilkinson I am trying hard to follow the hon. Gentleman's logic.• From this time it is hard to follow Tyndale's movements, for he covered his tracks to avoid possible arrest.• It is therefore, very difficult to follow up adults who have enquired about courses but not actually applied.It ... follow that• If utilitarianism has no way of making equity matter, it does not follow that equity is unimportant or insignificant.• From this it follows that far more transactions could well be caught under the section than at first appears.• It does not follow that in owning a funboard you should only learn funboard techniques.• Since no one could know all this, it follows that no one could understand the meaning of these words.• It followed that Northumberland's men were in a sense Gloucester's men, even though the duke could not retain them directly.• It follows that the academic community and research are directly interrelated.• It follows that the duty can not be expected to play a major part in controlling managerialist tendencies.• Nor does it follow that this second meaning should be given pedagogic preference over the first.followed ... with ... eyes• They followed it with their eyes as it slowly climbed toward the hospital.From Longman Business Dictionaryfollowfollow /ˈfɒləʊˈfɑːloʊ/ verb1[intransitive, transitive] to come or happen afterwardsThe company’s decision to diversify follows a sharp decline in demand for its products.As the recession worsened, further closures followed.2[intransitive] (also follow on) to be sent or paid laterYou can pay a deposit of £400 now, with the balance to follow within 30 days.3[transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it, or according to the instructions that say how it should be doneIf you’d followed my advice, we’d still be in profit.The contractor was fined for failing to follow proper safety procedures.Just follow the guidelines contained in this report.4[transitive] to act according to a particular plan or set of ideasThe Chancellor is expected to follow a cautious economicpolicy.The company had followed the wrong strategy.5[transitive] to happen or develop in the same way as something elseThese recent mergers appear to be following a trend.If one company drops its prices, the others have to follow suit (=do the same thing).6follow an occupation/trade/career etc formal to do a particular job or tradeHe intends to follow a legal career. → follow something → up → follow something up with something→ See Verb tableOrigin follow Old English folgianfol·low verb →10-24
→THESAURUS1 →PHRASAL VERBS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
→THESAURUS1 →PHRASAL VERBS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
walk, drive etc to Business Corpus behind go,
follow
fol‧low S1 W1 /ˈfɒləʊ $ ˈfɑːloʊ/
verb
Are those men following us?
The patrol car followed the BMW for a few miles and then lost it.
Tom’s already gone out to Rome and his wife and children will follow shortly.
follow somebody into/to etc something
Peggy followed her out onto the landing.
2. HAPPEN AFTER [intransitive and transitive] to happen or do something after something else:
The agreement followed months of negotiation.
The assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968 was followed by that of Robert Kennedy.
there follows something
After weeks of intense fighting, there followed a brief period of calm.
Most EU countries have signed the agreement and the US is expected to follow shortly (=soon). ⇨ following3
3. COME AFTER [intransitive and transitive] to come directly after something else in a series, list, or order ⇨ following:
The chapters that follow deal mainly with mathematics.
In English, the letter Q is always followed by U.
We had vegetable casserole with a fruit salad to follow (=as part of a meal).
there follows something
There followed several pages of incomprehensible statistics.
4. as follows used to introduce a list of things that you will mention next:
The winners are as follows: in third place, Mandy Johnson; in second place ...
5. DO WHAT SOMEBODY SAYS [transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it:
He followed the doctor’s advice and had no further trouble.
Follow the instructions very carefully when filling in the form.
They followed the plan that Elizabeth had worked out.
6. follow the signs/sb’s directions to go somewhere by a particular way according to road signs or to what someone has told you:
Just follow the signs for the airport.
I followed Brown’s directions and found the farm quite easily.
7. DO THE SAME THING [intransitive and transitive] to do the same thing as someone else:
Some state schools follow the example of private schools in asking parents to donate money.
Environmentalists are urging the government to follow the lead of Scandinavian countries in this matter.
She’s just like any young woman who enjoys following the latest fashions (=wearing fashionable clothes).
follow somebody into something (=do the same job as someone else)
He does not want to follow his father into a scientific career.
8. BELIEVE IN SOMETHING [transitive] to believe in and obey a particular set of religious or political ideas
9. GO IN PARTICULAR DIRECTION [transitive]
a. to continue along a particular road, river etc:
I followed the main road up the mountain.
Tom followed the track that leads to the old Roman road.
b. to go in the same direction as something else, or to go parallel to something else:
The road follows the line of the river.
10. UNDERSTAND [intransitive and transitive] to understand something such as an explanation or story
SYN grasp:
I didn’t quite follow what he was saying.
easy/difficult/hard etc to follow
The plot is a little difficult to follow.
11. BE A RESULT [intransitive] to be true as a result of something else that is true
follow from
The conclusion that follows from these findings is that inner city schools need more investment, not less.
It doesn’t necessarily follow that you’re going to do well academically even if you’re highly intelligent.
12. BE INTERESTED [transitive] to be interested in something and in the way it develops:
Have you been following that crime series on TV?
I’ve been following his progress very closely.
She just doesn’t understand people who follow football or any other kind of sport.
13. follow a pattern/course/trend etc to continue to happen or develop in a particular way, especially in a way that is expected:
In Australia, the weather follows a fairly predictable pattern.
14. follow suit to do the same as someone else has done:
Budget companies have been so successful that other airlines have had to follow suit and lower their fares.
15. follow in sb’s footsteps to do the same job or to work or live in the same way as someone else before you, especially someone in your family:
He is a doctor and expects his son to follow in his footsteps.
16. BE ABOUT [transitive] to show or describe someone’s life or a series of events, for example in a film or book:
The book follows the plight of an orphaned Irish girl who marries into New York society.
17. be a hard act to follow to be so good or successful at something that it will be difficult for the next person, team etc to be as good:
We’re looking for a replacement for Sue, but she’s going to be a hard act to follow.
18. WATCH CAREFULLY [transitive] to carefully watch someone do something:
She followed Simon with her eyes as he walked to the gate.
19. THINK ABOUT/STUDY [transitive] to study or think about a particular idea or subject and try to learn something from it:
It turned out we were both following the same line of research.
If you follow that idea to its logical conclusion, we’d have to ban free speech altogether.
20. follow your instincts/feelings/gut reaction etc to do the thing that you immediately feel is best without needing to stop and think about it
21. follow the herd/crowd to do the same thing that most other people are doing, without really thinking about it for yourself – used in order to show disapproval
22. follow your nose informal
a. to go straight forward or continue in the same direction:
Just follow your nose until you come to a small bridge.
b. to go to the place from where there is a particular smell coming:
I followed my nose to the kitchen, where Marcie was making coffee.
c. to do something in the way that you feel is right:
After a few years in the detective game, you learn to follow your nose.
23. follow a profession/trade/way of life etc to do a particular job or have a particular way of life
▪ follow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going: The man had followed her home to find out where she lived. | Follow that car! | He hired a detective to follow her.
▪chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape: Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.
▪run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them: I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.
▪stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them: a tiger stalking its prey | He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.
▪pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined way: The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.
▪give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you: One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man. | The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.
▪tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go: Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.
▪track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground: The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert.
follow somebody around (also follow somebody about British English) phrasal verb
to follow someone everywhere they go, especially when this is annoying:
She told him to go away and stop following her around.
follow on phrasal verb
1. to happen after something else and be connected with it ⇨ follow-on
follow on from
The discussion sessions are supposed to follow on from this morning’s lecture.
2. to go to the same place as someone else at a later time:
You go ahead – I’ll follow on later.
follow through phrasal verb
1. to do what needs to be done to complete something or make it successful:
The project went wrong when the staff failed to follow through.
follow something ↔ through
If you have followed through all the exercises in this book, you should be ready for the second year course.
2. to continue moving your arm after you have hit the ball in tennis, golf etc ⇨ follow-through
follow something ↔ up phrasal verb
1. to find out more information about something and take action if necessary:
The police take people’s statements and then follow them up.
2. to do something in addition to what you have already done in order to make it more likely to succeed ⇨ follow-up
follow something ↔ up with
If there is no response to your press release, follow it up with a phone call.
This experiment was quickly followed up by others using different forms of the drug.
⇨ follow-up
fol‧low S1 W1 /ˈfɒləʊ $ ˈfɑːloʊ/
verb Language: Old English
Origin: folgian
1. GO AFTER [intransitive and transitive] to go, walk, drive etc behind or after someone else:Origin: folgian
follow somebody into/to etc something
2. HAPPEN AFTER [intransitive and transitive] to happen or do something after something else:
there follows something
3. COME AFTER [intransitive and transitive] to come directly after something else in a series, list, or order ⇨ following:
there follows something
4. as follows used to introduce a list of things that you will mention next:
5. DO WHAT SOMEBODY SAYS [transitive] to do something in the way that someone has told or advised you to do it:
6. follow the signs/sb’s directions to go somewhere by a particular way according to road signs or to what someone has told you:
7. DO THE SAME THING [intransitive and transitive] to do the same thing as someone else:
follow somebody into something (=do the same job as someone else)
8. BELIEVE IN SOMETHING [transitive] to believe in and obey a particular set of religious or political ideas
9. GO IN PARTICULAR DIRECTION [transitive]
a. to continue along a particular road, river etc:
b. to go in the same direction as something else, or to go parallel to something else:
10. UNDERSTAND [intransitive and transitive] to understand something such as an explanation or story
SYN grasp:
easy/difficult/hard etc to follow
11. BE A RESULT [intransitive] to be true as a result of something else that is true
follow from
12. BE INTERESTED [transitive] to be interested in something and in the way it develops:
13. follow a pattern/course/trend etc to continue to happen or develop in a particular way, especially in a way that is expected:
14. follow suit to do the same as someone else has done:
15. follow in sb’s footsteps to do the same job or to work or live in the same way as someone else before you, especially someone in your family:
16. BE ABOUT [transitive] to show or describe someone’s life or a series of events, for example in a film or book:
17. be a hard act to follow to be so good or successful at something that it will be difficult for the next person, team etc to be as good:
18. WATCH CAREFULLY [transitive] to carefully watch someone do something:
19. THINK ABOUT/STUDY [transitive] to study or think about a particular idea or subject and try to learn something from it:
20. follow your instincts/feelings/gut reaction etc to do the thing that you immediately feel is best without needing to stop and think about it
21. follow the herd/crowd to do the same thing that most other people are doing, without really thinking about it for yourself – used in order to show disapproval
22. follow your nose informal
a. to go straight forward or continue in the same direction:
b. to go to the place from where there is a particular smell coming:
c. to do something in the way that you feel is right:
23. follow a profession/trade/way of life etc to do a particular job or have a particular way of life
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follow somebody around (also follow somebody about British English) phrasal verb
to follow someone everywhere they go, especially when this is annoying:
follow on phrasal verb
1. to happen after something else and be connected with it ⇨ follow-on
follow on from
2. to go to the same place as someone else at a later time:
follow through phrasal verb
1. to do what needs to be done to complete something or make it successful:
follow something ↔ through
2. to continue moving your arm after you have hit the ball in tennis, golf etc ⇨ follow-through
follow something ↔ up phrasal verb
1. to find out more information about something and take action if necessary:
2. to do something in addition to what you have already done in order to make it more likely to succeed ⇨ follow-up
follow something ↔ up with
⇨ follow-up
understand to know or realize the meaning of words, a language, what sb says, etc; to know or realize how or why sth happens, how it works or why it is important 指懂、理解、领会（词义、语言、话语等），了解、认识到、明白（事情如何或为何发生、如何起作用或为何重要等） ：◆ I don't understand the instructions. 我不懂这些指令的意思。 ◆ Doctors still don't understand much about the disease. 医生对这种疾病还了解不多。 see to understand what is happening, what sb is saying, how sth works or how important sth is 指理解、明白、领会（正在发生的事、某人的话、某事如何起作用或重要性如何） ：◆ 'It opens like this.' 'Oh, I see .'“这样就打开了。” “哦，我明白了。” ◆ Oh yes, I see what you mean .噢，我明白你的意思了。 get ( to understand a joke, what sb is trying to tell you, or a situation that they are trying to describe指理解、明白（笑话、某人试图告知的事或描述的情况） ：◆ She didn't get the joke. 她听不懂那个笑话。 ◆ I don't get you. 我搞不懂你的意思。 follow to understand an explanation, a story or the meaning of sth 指理解、明白（说明、故事、意思） ：◆ Sorry—I don't quite follow. 对不起，我不太懂你的话。 ◆ The plot is almost impossible to follow. 故事情节几乎叫人不明所以。 grasp to come to understand a fact, an idea or how to do sth 指理解、领会、领悟、明白（事实、想法或如何做某事） ：◆ They failed to grasp the importance of his words. 他们没有理解他的话的重要性。
understand or grasp? 用 understand 还是 grasp？
comprehend (often used in negative statements) ( to understand a fact, idea or reason（常用于否定句中）指理解、领悟、明白（事实、想法或原因） ：◆ The concept of infinity is almost impossible for the human mind to comprehend. 无穷的概念几乎是人类的大脑无法理解的。
Patterns
to understand/see/get/follow/grasp/comprehend what/why/how… to understand/see/grasp/comprehend that… to understand/see/get/grasp the point/idea (of sth)to be easy/difficult/hard to understand/see/follow/grasp/comprehendto fully understand/see/grasp/comprehend sth
