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• follow-up
  follow-up

  noun

  the act of following up.
• follow up
  follow up

  verb

  to pursue or investigate (a person, evidence, etc) closely

follow-up

American  

[fol-oh-uhp] / ˈfɒl oʊˌʌp /

noun

• follow-ups
  plural

1. the act of following up.

2. an action or thing that serves to increase the effectiveness of a previous one, as a second or subsequent letter, phone call, or visit.

3. Also called follow. Journalism.

   1. a news story providing additional information on a story or article previously published.

   2. Also called supplementary story, sidebar. a minor news story used to supplement a related story of major importance.

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adjective

1. designed or serving to follow up, especially to increase the effectiveness of a previous action.

   a follow-up interview; a follow-up offer.

2. of or relating to action that follows an initial treatment, course of study, etc..

   follow-up care for mental patients; a follow-up survey.

follow up British  

verb

1. to pursue or investigate (a person, evidence, etc) closely

2. to continue (action) after a beginning, esp to increase its effect

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noun

1. 1. something done to reinforce an initial action

   2. ( as modifier )

      a follow-up letter

2. med a routine examination of a patient at various intervals after medical or surgical treatment

follow up Idioms  

1. Carry to completion. For example, I'm following up their suggestions with concrete proposals . Also see follow through .

2. Increase the effectiveness or enhance the success of something by further action. For example, She followed up her interview with a phone call . [Late 1700s]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• follow-ups
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of follow-up

First recorded in 1920–25; noun, adj. use of verb phrase follow up

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

follow-up follow up follow-ups

Despite this substantial difference in treatment recommendations, both groups experienced the same observed rate of major cardiovascular events during the follow-up period.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

The police said follow-up inquiries led to the "discovery and seizure" of a further quantity of mail.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The company only recently turned on ads internationally for its popular AI Mode, for example, which lets search users ask follow-up questions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

If “rinse and repeat” doesn’t work, try the “gray rock” approach: Say and do very little or even nothing in response to any follow-up queries from her.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

In the weeks that followed, there was no follow-up, and the police did not ever comment, not that Scarlett could see.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

What could even follow up “La Bola Negra,” in which he shares multiple scenes with Oscar-winning Spanish superstar Penélope Cruz?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

"This case demonstrates the impact of not having timely follow up appointments," the coroner added.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The literature laureate will be revealed on Thursday, with some pundits suggesting that the Swedish Academy could follow up last year's award to Hungary's Laszlo Krasznahorkai with a woman writer, possibly from Latin America.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

I want to follow up on what you said about standing doctrine and the environmental cases.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Better follow up and see what he's doin'.” The procession moved off sedately in King Pellinore’s direction, following his erratic course by the fresh tracks in the snow.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

The human interaction, back-and-forth questions and follow-ups are essential to keep their stories authentic and anti-AI — a system that is proving to be detrimental to teaching writing skills.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

These improvements remained evident during follow-ups at three and six months, suggesting that the psychological effects were stable over time.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

"People don't know when to expect a reply or who else can help, and that uncertainty is what leads to the 'just-in-case' follow-ups," says Charlotte Davies, a career expert at Linkedin.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The research showed a measurable decline in the performance of the prefrontal cortex between initial scans and five-year follow-ups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

When Moore told Golde he wanted to start doing his follow-ups closer to home, Golde offered to pay for the plane tickets and put him up in style at the Beverly Wilshire.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

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