followed by

conj

"followed-by" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“followed by” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a conjunction. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - And then, and after that.

Corpus desk

Index EN-followed-by · followed by · English

followed by · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for followed by
PropertyValue
Headwordfollowed by
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechConjunction
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “followed by” sits in English frequency

followed by falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

followed by is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aconjunction. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "And then, and after that.".

followed by has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the passive voice of follow, and still frequently used as such. The correct English form is followed by, spelled F-O-L-L-O-W-E-D- -B-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    And then, and after that.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how followed by appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Yesterday morning I saw two ducks, followed by a gaggle of geese in the afternoon, followed by a swan in the evening. All told, it was a bird-filled day for me.
  2. A robbery followed by two murder cases clearly shows the presence of crime expansion in the city.

Etymology

From the passive voice of follow, and still frequently used as such.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "followed by"?
"followed by" is spelled F-O-L-L-O-W-E-D- -B-Y.
What does "followed by" mean?
As a conjunction, "followed by" means: And then, and after that.
What is the origin of the word "followed by"?
From the passive voice of follow, and still frequently used as such. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "followed by". Here's where to go from here.

  • Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list