following

/ˈfɑloʊɪŋ/

/ˈfɒləʊɪŋ/

Other forms: followings; followingly

Following means "coming immediately after," as in: "My birthday was Monday. The following day, I returned the following gifts: a purple cowboy hat, a stuffed aardvark, and huge rubber duckie."

To follow is to go after. If you’re watching a TV show, when it’s over you might stay on the couch and watch the following show. As a noun, following can refer to a group of fans or a bunch of people who follow someone in the sense of believing in them. A band might have a large following, and the leader of a cult also has a devoted following. On tests, you're likely to see following used to introduce information or answer choices, as in "Which of the following triangles is an isosceles triangle."

Definitions of following

1. noun

   the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
   synonyms: chase, pursual, pursuit

   types:

   tracking, trailing

   the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind

   shadowing, tailing

   the act of following someone secretly

   stalk, stalking

   the act of following prey stealthily

   type of:

   motion, move, movement

   the act of changing location from one place to another
2. adjective

   immediately following in time or order
   “the following day”

   synonyms: next

   succeeding

   coming after or following
3. adjective

   going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction
   “the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem like a parade”

   “tried to outrun the following footsteps”

   synonyms:

   pursuing

   following in order to overtake or capture or as accompaniment to such pursuit

   antonyms:

   leading

   going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way

   directing, directional, directive, guiding

   showing the way by conducting or leading; imposing direction on

   guiding

   exerting control or influence
4. adjective

   in the desired direction
   “a following wind”

   synonyms:

   favorable, favourable

   (of winds or weather) tending to promote or facilitate
5. adjective

   about to be mentioned or specified
   “the following items”

   synonyms: undermentioned

   succeeding

   coming after or following
6. noun

   a group of followers or enthusiasts
   synonyms: followers

   types:

   claque

   a group of followers hired to applaud at a performance

   faithful

   any loyal and steadfast following

   fandom

   the fans of a sport or famous person

   type of:

   hoi polloi, mass, masses, multitude, people, the great unwashed

   the common people generally