SINCE 1828
follow-up
noun
fol·low-up
| \ ˈfä-lō-ˌəp
\
\
Definition of follow-up
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a
: the act or an instance of following up
b
: something that follows up
2
: maintenance of contact with or reexamination of a person (such as a patient) especially following treatment
The surgeon scheduled a follow-up with his patient a week after the surgery.
3
: a news story presenting new information on a story published earlier
A few days after the story broke, the newspaper printed a follow-up.
follow-up
adjectiveDefinition of follow-up (Entry 2 of 3)
1
: of, relating to, or being something that follows up
follow-up action by the police— Frank Faulkner had a few follow-up questions after the interview
2
: done, conducted, or administered in the course of following up persons
follow-up care for discharged hospital patients
follow up
verb
followed up;
following up;
follows up
Definition of follow up (Entry 3 of 3)
1
: to follow with something similar, related, or supplementary
following up his convictions with action— G. P. Merrill She followed up her first novel with a second one.
2
: to maintain contact with (a person) so as to monitor the effects of earlier activities or treatments
All patients were followed up clinically for four months.
3
: to pursue in an effort to take further action
the police are following up leads
: to take appropriate action
follow up on complaints
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Examples of follow-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
One idea was to follow up on the devastating 416 wildfire and how Durango’s tourism economy was bouncing back this season. — The Denver Post, "Post Premium: Our best stories for the week of July 1-7," 7 July 2019 Indians outfielder Trayvon Robinson followed up with a 3 RBI double to increase the lead to 3-0. — Robert Rimpson, The Courier-Journal, "Bats end latest home stand with a bang against the Indianapolis Indians," 3 July 2019 The complaint says the White House Counsel’s Office followed up in the ensuing months, and in March 2018, Manigault Newman called to discuss the matter. — Matt Zapotosky, Washington Post, "Justice Department files complaint alleging Omarosa Manigault Newman failed to file financial disclosure report," 25 June 2019 This level of precision is what finally allowed astronomers to follow up with giant optical telescopes, like the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and the Hubble Space Telescope, and see where the signal was coming from. — Yvette Cendes, Discover Magazine, "What Are FRBs? The Discovery of Mysterious Signals From the Cosmos," 7 Feb. 2019 The city’s Downtown Delray Beach Development Authority will follow up to see what’s working and what’s not and tweak the plan, Lauzier said. — Marci Shatzman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Delray to start charging for downtown parking on Monday," 6 June 2018 Detectives were notified and are following up on the incident. — Houston Chronicle, "Memorial Villages Police Department weekly report," 24 June 2019 There was certainly some yelling at times, but those moments were deftly selected and followed up with teaching. — Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bucks' Mike Budenholzer named NBA 2018-19 coach of year," 24 June 2019 Arenado coaxed a single through the right side, and Murphy followed up with a single to center. — Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, "Rockies’ steamroller offense beats D-backs behind quality start from Jon Gray," 19 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'follow-up.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for follow-up
follow-up
noun
English Language Learners Definition of follow-up
: something that continues or completes a process or activity
follow-up
noun
fol·low-up
| \ ˈfäl-ə-ˌwəp, ˌfäl-
\
\
Medical Definition of follow-up
(Entry 1 of 2)
: maintenance of contact with a patient at one or more designated intervals following diagnosis or treatment especially to examine again or monitor the progress of therapy
also
: an instance of such contact
At three-month and six-month follow-ups, he had only mild, residual facial swelling on the lower left side. — Meredith August et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 29 Dec. 2005
follow up
transitive verb
\ ˌfäl-ə-ˈwəp
\
\
Medical Definition of follow up (Entry 2 of 2)
: to maintain contact with (a patient) at one or more designated intervals following diagnosis or treatment especially to examine again or monitor the progress of therapy
patients who are followed up after their discharge She was discharged on postoperative day 4 and was followed up in the surgery clinic 19 days postoperatively.— Steven L. Bloom et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 21 Oct. 2010
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