follow-up
noun
the act of following up.
follow-up
American
[fol-oh-uhp]
/ ˈfɒl oʊˌʌp /
noun
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follow-ups
plural
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the act of following up.
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an action or thing that serves to increase the effectiveness of a previous one, as a second or subsequent letter, phone call, or visit.
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Also called follow. Journalism.
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a news story providing additional information on a story or article previously published.
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Also called supplementary story. Also called sidebar. a minor news story used to supplement a related story of major importance.
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adjective
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designed or serving to follow up, especially to increase the effectiveness of a previous action.
a follow-up interview; a follow-up offer.
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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
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to pursue or investigate (a person, evidence, etc) closely
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to continue (action) after a beginning, esp to increase its effect
noun
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something done to reinforce an initial action
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( as modifier )
a follow-up letter
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med a routine examination of a patient at various intervals after medical or surgical treatment
follow up
Idioms
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Carry to completion. For example, I'm following up their suggestions with concrete proposals . Also see follow through .
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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]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of follow-up
First recorded in 1920–25; noun, adj. use of verb phrase follow up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
De Palma’s follow-up opened nine years later with a cast stacked with rising Hollywood stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
A follow-up review is also planned in 2038, which could see further changes.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
After its follow-up drive went nowhere, Louisiana made the mistake of punting to Mosley, who took off sprinting to his right and didn’t stop until he reached paydirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles as two cursed sisters in this unfortunate follow-up to their 1998 film.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The reporter came back with an immediate follow-up: “Would that match be under the authority of FIDE?”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
At every event, Kaminetsky handed out her contact information in case shoppers wanted to follow up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
"No, of course it is early," the head coach was quick to follow up.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Haynie said the school admits students but doesn’t follow up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
“Unfortunately, a lot of time, it might end there for a while. We’ll follow up a couple of times, and then it’s up to them. All we can do is advise and educate them.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
I would score and take the lead, and then she would follow up aggressively winning a point.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
"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
Moreover, the follow-ups indicated to Disney that other Pixar franchises could be a viable revenue stream, no matter the public’s response to the films.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 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
While the original papers claimed advances for quantum computing and made their way into top scientific journals, the individual follow-ups could not make it past the editors at those same journals.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
We were to go home but would have to come back several times for follow-ups.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
