fol·low-up
ˈfä-lō-ˌəp 
1
a
: 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.
1
: of, relating to, or being something that follows up
follow-up action by the police—
Frank Faulkner
Frank Faulknerhad 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
followed up; following up; follows up
1
: to follow with something similar, related, or supplementary
following up his convictions with action—G. P. Merrill
G. P. MerrillShe 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
Examples of follow-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 1 July 2025
That spring will see the arrival of the first BTS studio album since Be, which arrived in 2020, as well as the follow-up to their Permission to Dance On Stage Tour.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
Michael Kan, PCMAG, 21 Mar. 2023
In a follow-up statement released around 2 p.m., the agency said the restrictions would remain in place until at least the end of service.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2023
Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 26 June 2025
Other outlets, including The New York Times, the AP, Reuters and NBC News, followed up with similar reports.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for follow-up
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Gerard Johnstone returned to write and direct the follow-up film, which brings back the murderous artificial intelligence doll known as M3GAN (short for Model 3 Generative Android) as she’s rebooted with advanced upgrades to stop a dangerous humanoid military robot.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 1 July 2025
That spring will see the arrival of the first BTS studio album since Be, which arrived in 2020, as well as the follow-up to their Permission to Dance On Stage Tour.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
Adjective
The user can also tell Bing to alter the image with follow-up requests, as Microsoft’s demo shows.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 21 Mar. 2023
In a follow-up statement released around 2 p.m., the agency said the restrictions would remain in place until at least the end of service.
—John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2023
Verb
On June 22, the U.S. followed up with a strike using two Massive Ordnance Penetrators to hit the underground centrifuge halls.
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 26 June 2025
Other outlets, including The New York Times, the AP, Reuters and NBC News, followed up with similar reports.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for follow-up
Cite this Entry
“Follow-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/follow-up. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
follow-up
1 of 2 noun
fol·low-up
ˈfäl-ə-ˌwəp, ˌfäl-
: 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
Meredith August et al., The New England Journal of Medicine
follow-up
adjective
a follow-up visit
follow-up care
When ovarian cancer is found, better follow-up procedures and more aggressive chemotherapy are prolonging remissions, even in women with advanced disease.
—Mayo Clinic Health Letter
Mayo Clinic Health Letter
follow up
2 of 2 transitive verb
: 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
Steven L. Bloom et al., The New England Journal of MedicineLove words? Need even more definitions?
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