follow-through
noun
the completion of a motion, as in the stroke of a tennis racket.
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follow-through
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follow through
follow throughverbsport to complete (a stroke or shot) by continuing the movement to the end of its arc
follow-through
American
[fol-oh-throo, -throo]
/ ˈfɒl oʊˌθru, -ˈθru /
noun
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the completion of a motion, as in the stroke of a tennis racket.
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the portion of such a motion after the ball has been hit.
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the act of continuing a plan, project, scheme, or the like to its completion.
follow through
British
verb
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sport to complete (a stroke or shot) by continuing the movement to the end of its arc
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(tr) to pursue (an aim) to a conclusion
noun
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sport
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the act of following through
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the part of the stroke after the ball has been hit
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the completion of a procedure, esp after a first action
follow through
Idioms
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In sports such as tennis or golf, carry a stroke to completion after striking the ball. For example, You don't follow through on your backhand, so it goes into the net . [Late 1800s]
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Carry an object, project, or intention to completion; pursue fully. For example, She followed through on her promise to reorganize the department . Also see follow up , def. 1.
Etymology
Origin of follow-through
First recorded in 1895–1900; noun use of verb phrase follow through
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:
Investor’s Business Daily identified Aug. 4 as a follow-through day for the S&P 500, confirming a new market uptrend.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
She added that the firm has generally seen solid follow-through across breakouts, with rallies often seen for stocks passing their 200-day moving averages.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
His arrest on Tuesday marks a rare follow-through in the fight against high-level corruption, with convictions of top officials uncommon in the West African nation.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Until Nvidia can deliver clear follow-through, the risk remains that this move may have been a false start rather than the beginning of a sustained advance.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
Made sure he had a good snap and follow-through.
From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein
It’s not always easy to follow through with your ABCs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
But whether these governments follow through on these admittedly vague pledges, and whether that results in material change in the Middle East, is at least partly beside the point.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Joly has threatened to launch a lawsuit against Stellantis, for failing to follow through with the Jeep Compass production, and vowed to recover the millions of dollars that governments provided to the car maker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
"We are finally seeing a follow through to intervention by some meaningful expectation on the policy front."
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
He wasn’t sure he’d have the courage to follow through with what he’d come here to do if he had to look at all of them as he passed by.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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.
