Showing results for "following"

• present participle of follow.

following

American  

[fol-oh-ing] / ˈfɒl oʊ ɪŋ /

noun

• followings
  plural

1. a body of followers, attendants, adherents, etc.

2. the body of admirers, attendants, patrons, etc., of someone or something.

   That television show has a large following.

3. the following, that which comes immediately after, as pages, lines, etc..

   See the following for a list of exceptions.

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adjective

1. that follows or moves in the same direction.

   a following wind.

2. that comes after or next in order or time; ensuing.

   the following day.

3. that is now to follow; now to be mentioned, described, related, or the like.

   Check the following report for details.

following British  

/ ˈfɒləʊɪŋ /

adjective

1. 1. (prenominal) about to be mentioned, specified, etc

      the following items

   2. ( as noun )

      will the following please raise their hands?

2. (of winds, currents, etc) moving in the same direction as the course of a vessel

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noun

1. a group of supporters or enthusiasts

   he attracted a large following wherever he played

preposition

1. as a result of

   he was arrested following a tip-off

Usage

The use of following to mean as a result of is very common in journalism, but should be avoided in other kinds of writing

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfollowing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• followings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of following

First recorded in 1250–1300, following is from the Middle English word folwing. See follow, -ing ¹, -ing ²

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Explanation

Following means "coming immediately after," as in: "My birthday was Monday. The following day, I returned the following gifts: a purple cowboy hat, a stuffed aardvark, and huge rubber duckie." To follow is to go after. If you’re watching a TV show, when it’s over you might stay on the couch and watch the following show. As a noun, following can refer to a group of fans or a bunch of people who follow someone in the sense of believing in them. A band might have a large following, and the leader of a cult also has a devoted following. On tests, you're likely to see following used to introduce information or answer choices, as in "Which of the following triangles is an isosceles triangle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

following followings

With some formal firefighter training and background checks, volunteers commit to following fire officials’ orders, helping residents evacuate and putting out spot fires, while leaving the ferocious front-line flames to the professionals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

A 16-year-old boy and 80-year-old man have died following a light aircraft crash near Loch Lomond.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

It had been decades since sharks last patrolled the reef off the coast of Fiji's Naidiri Village, but they returned this year following a community-led effort to protect the fishery and plant thousands of corals.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The former teammates at Ohio State were now wearing Houston Texans gear after they were reunited following Harrison’s trade from the Arizona Cardinals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

But when at last they left, it was as though the Afterlife knew how the event had depleted Clare, and it always gave him the following three nights off.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Even personal-finance influencers with big followings are getting in on the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

While countless influencers offer tips for growing online audiences, little training exists for how to actually deal with managing the stress of having large followings.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

In the same way that regional brands like Shake Shack and In-N-Out have maintained cult followings for their novelty, Cane’s has no doubt benefited from the same kind of rarefied air.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

Roehampton requires minimum rankings in major games for the scholarship, but will consider applications from those close to the threshold who meet other criteria, such as having large followings on streaming platforms like Twitch.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

The different Nationalist groups, the “Buy Black!” forces, and others like that; dozens of their step- ladder orators were trying to increase their followings.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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Related Words

• coming
• consecutive
• ensuing
• subsequent
• succeeding
• successive

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