# follow

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈfɒləʊ/ · frequency rank #747

## Definitions
1. To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.
2. To go or come after in a sequence.
3. To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.).
4. To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc).
5. To understand, to pay attention to.
6. To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person.
7. To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform.
8. To be a logical consequence of something.
9. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **folly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-folly)
- **Folsom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-folsom)
- **follows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-follows)
- **followed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-followed)
- **follower** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-follower)
- **followup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/follow-vs-followup)
- **flow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flow-vs-follow)
- **folio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/folio-vs-follow)
- **fellow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fellow-vs-follow)
- **Fallon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fallon-vs-follow)
- **fallow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fallow-vs-follow)
- **fellows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fellows-vs-follow)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ffollow`, `flolow`, `followw`, `follwo`, `fololw`, `folow`, `ofllow`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/follow