following

Pluralfollowings

1. 1
   afterpreposition

   After or subsequent to a particular event.

   Following the merger, several departments were reorganized.

   Ticket prices rose sharply following the championship win.

   UsageSome careful writers prefer after (after the meeting), especially where following could mean "by": following the instructions.

   Similarafter

   Oppositebefore

2. 2
   listed belowadjective

   About to be specified or named, usually just after the point of mention.

   Bring the following documents to your appointment.

   The manual lists the following steps for setup.

   UsageUsually right after the, with the list coming next: the following steps.

   Oppositeaforementioned, aforesaid

   Note

   A pointer forward: the word promises items, words or instructions that have not yet appeared. Grammarians call this cataphoric reference. When the noun is dropped, the same job passes to the noun for what comes next.

3. 3
   nextadjective

   Occupying the next position in a series or occurring immediately after a particular time or event.

   The proposal was rejected, and the following week the team tried again.

   Each chapter ends with a question answered in the following section.

   UsageFor the week after another time, say the following week; for the week after this one, say next week.

   Similarnext, subsequent, succeeding

   Oppositepreceding

   Note

   The participle turned adjective: follow plus -ing, the same pairing that underlies the noun and preposition uses. It sits before a word of time or order, as in the following section or the following morning, which Sir John Ross wrote in 1835.

4. 4
   pursuingverb

   Present participle and gerund of follow: the verb's -ing form in any of its meanings, as in 'A dog was following us' or 'Following a map is easy.'

   Reporters were following the story as it developed.

   Following the coastline, they hiked for three days.

   Note

   The verb form behind the rest. It builds the progressive with be, as in reporters were following the story, and it serves as a gerund, as in following orders is not enough. It keeps whatever object the verb takes: a path, instructions, an argument, a news event. In an opening clause, the subject must be the one doing the following, and that is what separates it from the preposition meaning "after".

5. 5
   listed below (by itself)nounwith the

   The thing or things mentioned immediately afterward.

   The following includes everything you need to bring on the trip.

   He summarized the following for the committee members.

   UsageSay the following is for one thing and the following are for several: count what comes next.

6. 6
   supportersnouncountable

   A group of followers, supporters, or admirers.

   Her podcast built a devoted following within its first year.

   The politician's following grew rapidly after the debate.

   UsageA following is the whole group of fans; one person in it is a follower. You build or gain one.

   Similaraudience, fanbase, base, constituency

   Note

   Sports writing uses it for traveling fans, as in Jon Smith's 2011 BBC Sport report of Rovers scoring in front of their away following. The plural followings appears when audiences on several platforms are added up, as in Katelyn Mensah's 2023 piece on Mikayla Nogueira.

7. 7
   preposition

   In accordance with a rule, model, or set of instructions; as per.

   Following standard procedure, the nurse recorded each dosage.

   The bridge was built following the engineer's revised plans.

   Similarper

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