follower
Americannoun
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a person or thing that follows.
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a person who follows another in regard to their ideas or belief; disciple or adherent.
- Synonyms:
- supporter
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a person who imitates, copies, or takes as a model or ideal.
He was little more than a follower of current modes.
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an attendant, servant, or retainer.
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a person who follows or subscribes to another's posts on a social media website.
He spent hours figuring out how to get more followers on Twitter.
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British Informal. a boyfriend or suitor, especially of a maidservant.
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Machinery. a part receiving motion from or following the movements of another part, especially a cam.
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Engineering, Building Trades. a concrete form attached to the head of a timber pile to permit casting of a concrete cap or pier.
noun
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a person who accepts the teachings of another; disciple; adherent
a follower of Marx
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an attendant or henchman
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an enthusiast or supporter, as of a sport or team
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(esp formerly) a male admirer
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rare a pursuer
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a machine part that derives its motion by following the motion of another part
Synonym Usage
Follower, adherent, partisan refer to someone who demonstrates allegiance to a person, a doctrine, a cause, or the like. Follower often has an implication of personal relationship or of slavish acquiescence. Adherent, a more formal word, has implications of active championship of a person or a point of view. Partisan, ordinarily meaning a person prejudiced and unreasoning in adherence to a party, during World War II took on the meaning of a member of certain groups in occupied countries of Europe who carried on underground resistance to the Nazis.
Etymology
Origin of follower
First recorded before 900; Middle English folwer, Old English folgere. See follow, -er 1
Explanation
A follower is a person who believes in a particular cause, faith, or specific person. A follower of Hinduism, for example, usually worships many gods. You might be a follower of Islam and also a follower of a popular self-help writer. In either case, you are devoted, loyal, and interested. You can also use the word follower to talk about someone who literally follows another person. When you play tag and the person who's "it" runs behind you as you dodge around trees, that person is a follower. The Old English root is folgere, "servant or disciple," from folgian, "follow, accompany, or pursue."
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.
Harshad Nalawade's Follower, which was selected for the Rotterdam Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release for instance, dives into the radicalisation of India's youth, exploring the life of a small-town troll with compassion.
From BBC • May 28, 2025
In an Aug. 10 note to clients, X announced its plans to depreciate the Follower Objective ad format.
From Washington Times • Aug. 15, 2023
“And I wrote songs like ‘Waterloo Sunset,’ ‘Sunny Afternoon,’ ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’ rather than trying to write ‘Stairway to Heaven.’
From Washington Post • Oct. 24, 2019
Follower counts, Instagram’s main status marker, would become “much less prominent” in users’ profiles.
From New York Times • May 31, 2019
I have made no impression upon him," said the Follower; "and I am sorry for it, for he is one whom his comrades think well of, and would gladly follow.
From Waverley Novels — Volume 12 by Scott, Walter, Sir
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.
