Follow up meaning
Follow up means to find out more about something or do more to deal with it. It can also mean to contact someone again after a meeting or message.
follow something up
follow up · followed · following
The police are following up every phone call they get.
Follow up meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Find out more about something or do more to deal with it
follow something up
- The police are following up every phone call they get.
- I’ll follow up your question with the manager.
- She mentioned a job, but I never followed it up.
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2
Contact someone again after a meeting or message
follow up
- I’m just following up on my email from Monday.
- Please follow up with the client tomorrow.
- Did anyone follow up after the interview?
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use follow up in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is follow up separable?
With a direct object, follow up is separable: follow up the lead or follow the lead up. With a pronoun: follow it up. It is also used with on or with: follow up on a question, follow up with a customer.
The noun and adjective have a hyphen: a follow-up, a follow-up email, a follow-up appointment. The verb has none: I will follow up.
Verb tenses for follow up
| Present | I follow up · she follows up |
|---|---|
| Past | followed up |
| Present perfect | have followed up |
| -ing form | following up |
Common mistakes with follow up
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I sent a follow up email.
Right: I sent a follow-up email.
Before a noun, use the hyphen: follow-up.
Wrong: I will follow-up tomorrow.
Right: I will follow up tomorrow.
The verb is two words with no hyphen.
Wrong: I’m following up about my last email to you.
Right: I’m following up on my last email.
The usual pattern is follow up on something.
Synonyms and opposites of follow up
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- check incontact someone to see how things are
- look intoexamine a problem to learn more about it
- chaseUK work English, remind someone about something late
Opposite
- drop outstop taking part
- let something dropstop dealing with something and forget it
Follow up quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1The customer hasn’t replied. Can you ___ next week?
Follow up means contact someone again.
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2Choose the right sentence.
As an adjective before a noun, it needs a hyphen.
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3“The doctor wants a follow-up in two weeks.” What does the doctor want?
A follow-up appointment is a later visit to check progress.
Find your level
The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- put upB1fix something to a wall, or raise something higher
- look upA2find information in a dictionary, a book or online
- go upB1become higher, like a price, a number or a temperature
- come upB2be mentioned or talked about
- give upB1stop doing or having something, often a habit
- break upB1end a romantic relationship
Follow up FAQ
Questions people ask about follow up.
Is it follow up or follow-up?
Follow up, two words, is the verb: I’ll follow up. Follow-up, with a hyphen, is the noun or adjective: a follow-up call.
How do you write a follow-up email?
Keep it short and polite: Hi Sam, I’m just following up on my message from Tuesday. Is there any news?
Follow up on or follow up with?
Follow up on a thing: follow up on the order. Follow up with a person: follow up with the client.
Use follow up in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.