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 WebEmily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2023
The follow-up to last year’s Beautiful Mind looks back on his journey (naturally, considering the album title) while also folding some unexpected voices into his emotive aesthetic, including indie-pop collective Wet and rising singer-songwriter Sadie Jean.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 15 Sep. 2023
The Lost Tapes 2 (2019) With this being the follow-up to 2002’s The Lost Tapes, fans had high expectations for The Lost Tapes 2.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 15 Sep. 2023
This follow-up, inspired by her family history, has arrived nearly 30 years later.
—Sophia Nguyen, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Laurel Hell follow-up is out now via Dead Oceans.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 15 Sep. 2023
In a follow-up statement, Nigerian government spokesman Ngelale said officials from both countries needed more time to finalize agreement details, contradicting his earlier statement.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023
The visit by the cross-party EU delegation was slated as a follow-up to an April 2022 trip that was made amid concerns about democratic backsliding in Tunisia.
—Valeria Ferraro, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2023
Following a visit by Tunisian President Kais Saied, residents say there has been no follow-up.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2023
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
Over an average follow-up time of 28 years, 8.9% of elite soccer athletes and 6.2% of controls were diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease.
—Judy George | Medpage Today, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2023
People who send before and after images of their cleaning were promised (in a later follow-up Tweet) to have the chance to win $5,000.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2023
After the train derailment, WKBN-27 aired a follow-up broadcast addressing online conspiracy theories about the MyID.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
Philips was a pioneer of the medium, so much so that Time magazine had splashed her on its cover in 1957, when some 10 million people were tuning in every weekday to watch her follow-up show, As the World Turns.
—Shinan Govani, Town & Country, 22 Feb. 2023
Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2023
In particular, minors’ comments are regularly ignored, cultures of silence are upheld, and institutions fail to record or follow up on patient complaints.
—Michelle Simpson Tuegel, STAT, 7 Sep. 2023
The singer and Denver Broncos quarterback welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Sienna, in April 2017 and followed up with son Win, in April 2020.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
However, Valley never followed up and numerous subsequent attempts to reach Franklin to learn how the city is dealing with the animal control problem were unsuccessful.
—Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2023
Jack Warner followed up a meeting with FDR to thank the President for tasking the Department of Commerce with a structural study of Hollywood and arbitration that Warner felt would help producer-exhibitor relations in the future.
—Chris Yogerst, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2023
In addition, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, the top law-enforcement officer in New York state, has endorsed a joint law-enforcement initiative that would follow up on a series of leads presented in the article.
—Eric J. Greenberg, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2023
There was no real gold-medal contender in Group C along with the U.S., and the Americans followed up a 27-point win over New Zealand in Saturday’s opener with a 28-point victory that was never in doubt Monday.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 28 Aug. 2023
Spears followed up with a question about Lillard’s demand to be traded to Miami and only Miami.
—Afentres, oregonlive, 25 Aug. 2023
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Noun
Scarlet is a follow-up to Doja Cat’s blockbuster 2021 project Planet Her.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2023
The follow-up to last year’s Beautiful Mind looks back on his journey (naturally, considering the album title) while also folding some unexpected voices into his emotive aesthetic, including indie-pop collective Wet and rising singer-songwriter Sadie Jean.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 15 Sep. 2023
The Lost Tapes 2 (2019) With this being the follow-up to 2002’s The Lost Tapes, fans had high expectations for The Lost Tapes 2.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 15 Sep. 2023
This follow-up, inspired by her family history, has arrived nearly 30 years later.
—Sophia Nguyen, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Laurel Hell follow-up is out now via Dead Oceans.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 15 Sep. 2023
In a follow-up statement, Nigerian government spokesman Ngelale said officials from both countries needed more time to finalize agreement details, contradicting his earlier statement.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023
The visit by the cross-party EU delegation was slated as a follow-up to an April 2022 trip that was made amid concerns about democratic backsliding in Tunisia.
—Valeria Ferraro, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2023
Following a visit by Tunisian President Kais Saied, residents say there has been no follow-up.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2023
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
Over an average follow-up time of 28 years, 8.9% of elite soccer athletes and 6.2% of controls were diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease.
—Judy George | Medpage Today, ABC News, 17 Mar. 2023
People who send before and after images of their cleaning were promised (in a later follow-up Tweet) to have the chance to win $5,000.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2023
After the train derailment, WKBN-27 aired a follow-up broadcast addressing online conspiracy theories about the MyID.
—Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
Philips was a pioneer of the medium, so much so that Time magazine had splashed her on its cover in 1957, when some 10 million people were tuning in every weekday to watch her follow-up show, As the World Turns.
—Shinan Govani, Town & Country, 22 Feb. 2023
Verb
There is no need to continue to follow up with her (in person or otherwise), because the matter is now settled.
—Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Sep. 2023
In particular, minors’ comments are regularly ignored, cultures of silence are upheld, and institutions fail to record or follow up on patient complaints.
—Michelle Simpson Tuegel, STAT, 7 Sep. 2023
The singer and Denver Broncos quarterback welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Sienna, in April 2017 and followed up with son Win, in April 2020.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
However, Valley never followed up and numerous subsequent attempts to reach Franklin to learn how the city is dealing with the animal control problem were unsuccessful.
—Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2023
Jack Warner followed up a meeting with FDR to thank the President for tasking the Department of Commerce with a structural study of Hollywood and arbitration that Warner felt would help producer-exhibitor relations in the future.
—Chris Yogerst, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Sep. 2023
In addition, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, the top law-enforcement officer in New York state, has endorsed a joint law-enforcement initiative that would follow up on a series of leads presented in the article.
—Eric J. Greenberg, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2023
There was no real gold-medal contender in Group C along with the U.S., and the Americans followed up a 27-point win over New Zealand in Saturday’s opener with a 28-point victory that was never in doubt Monday.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 28 Aug. 2023
Spears followed up with a question about Lillard’s demand to be traded to Miami and only Miami.
—Afentres, oregonlive, 25 Aug. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'follow-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1904, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Adjective
1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1637, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near follow-up
Cite this Entry
“Follow-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/follow-up. Accessed 22 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
follow-up
1 of 2 noun
fol·low-up
ˈfäl-ə-ˌwəp
1
: the act or an instance of following up
therapy as a follow-up to surgery
2
: something that follows up
follow-up
adjective
follow up
2 of 2 verbˌfäl-ə-ˈwəp
1
: to follow with something similar, related, or additional
follow up an idea with action
2
: to seek more details about
the police are following up leads
Medical 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 Medicine
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