Following

5 definitions found

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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to
        pursue; to prosecute.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they
              shall follow them.                    --Ex. xiv. 17.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Approve the best, and follow what I approve.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Follow peace with all men.            --Heb. xii.
                                                    14.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              It is most agreeable to some men to follow their
              reason; and to others to follow their appetites.
                                                    --J. Edwards.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To copy after; to take as an example.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we
              like not, than in defects resemble them whom we
              love.                                 --Hooker.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To succeed in order of time, rank, or office.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. To result from, as an effect from a cause, or an inference
        from a premise.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely,
        as a profession or calling.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              O, had I but followed the arts!       --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              O Antony! I have followed thee to this. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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]:

  Following \Fol"low*ing\, n.
     1. One's followers, adherents, or dependents, collectively.
        --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Vocation; business; profession.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Following \Fol"low*ing\, a.
     1. Next after; succeeding; ensuing; as, the assembly was held
        on the following day.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Astron.) (In the field of a telescope) In the direction
        from which stars are apparently moving (in consequence of
        the earth's rotation); as, a small star, north following
        or south following. In the direction toward which stars
        appear to move is called preceding.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The four principal directions in the field of a
           telescope are north, south, following, preceding.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  following
       adj 1: going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction;
              "the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem
              like a parade"; "tried to outrun the following
              footsteps" [ant: {leading}]
       2: in the desired direction; "a following wind" [syn: {following(a)}]
       3: immediately following in time or order; "the following day";
          "next in line"; "the next president"; "the next item on
          the list" [syn: {next}]
       4: about to be mentioned or specified; "the following items"
          [syn: {following(a)}, {undermentioned}]
       n 1: a group of followers or enthusiasts [syn: {followers}]
       2: the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture;
          "the culprit started to run and the cop took off in
          pursuit" [syn: {pursuit}, {chase}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  208 Moby Thesaurus words for "following":
     adherent, after, afterlife, alike, aped, appendage, appendant,
     attendance, attendant, audience, behind, below, body of retainers,
     buff, bugging, cadet, cavaliere servente, chase, clientage,
     clientele, cloak-and-dagger work, cohort, coming, coming after,
     consecution, consecutive, consecutiveness, consequent,
     consequential, consimilar, continuation, continuity, copied,
     copying, cortege, counterespionage, counterfeit, counterfeiting,
     counterintelligence, court, courtier, cynegetic, dangler,
     deducible, dependent, derivable, derivational, derivative, descent,
     disciple, dogging, electronic surveillance, emulation, ensuing,
     entourage, ersatz, espial, espionage, extension, fake, fakery, fan,
     favoring, final, fishing, flunky, follow, follow-up, follower,
     forgery, future time, halieutic, hanger-on, hangover, henchman,
     hit-off, homme de cour, homogeneous, hue and cry, hunting,
     identical, imitated, imitation, impersonation, imposture,
     impression, in full cry, in hot pursuit, in pursuit, infenible,
     intelligence, intelligence work, junior, lateness, later, like,
     line, lineage, lineal, logical sequence, military intelligence,
     mimesis, mimicked, mirroring, mock, nearly reproduced, next,
     next life, not unlike, observation, onomatopoeia, order,
     order of succession, parasite, parody, partisan, phony,
     piscatorial, piscatory, plagiarism, plagiary, postdate, postdating,
     posterior, posteriority, postposition, postpositional,
     postpositive, procession, progression, prolongation, prosecution,
     provenience, proximate, public, puisne, pursuance, pursuant,
     pursuer, pursuing, pursuit, pursuivant, quest, questing, remainder,
     repetition, resembling, resultant, resulting, retinue, rotation,
     rout, satellite, searching, secret police, secret service, sectary,
     seeking, sequacious, sequence, sequent, sequential, series, shadow,
     shadowing, similar, simulated, simulation, since, smacking of,
     something like, spying, stakeout, stalking, stooge, subjunction,
     subsequence, subsequent, subsequent to, succeeding, succession,
     successive, successiveness, successor, suffixation, suffixed,
     suggestive of, suite, supervenience, supervention, supporter,
     surveillance, synthetic, tagtail, tail, tailing, takeoff, tracking,
     tracking down, trailing, train, trainbearer, uniform with, votary,
     ward heeler, wiretap, wiretapping, younger