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
Because the first maneuver was so accurate, mission controllers can wait longer before making the follow-up adjustment, which is now scheduled for later this month.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Last week, promoters announced his follow-up series of shows would take place next year and Sutton initially said it "wouldn't impinge" on his day job.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 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
The morning after the two-day American Equal Rights Association meeting adjourned, Stanton and Anthony called friends of women’s suffrage to a follow-up meeting at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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
When Valerie called me a few days later to follow up, I told her I was still thinking the offer over.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
Nolso, who suffers from high blood pressure, does her own medical follow-ups.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
Miele saw Hayes only twice in six months, for routine follow-ups.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
