What does following mean?
Following is a versatile English word serving three grammatical roles. As a noun, it denotes a group of people who support, admire, or regularly follow a particular person, organization, belief, or activity — a politician's followers, a novelist's readership, or a cult movement's devotees may each be described as a following, especially when characterized as large or devoted. As an adjective, it refers to what comes next in a sequence, as in 'the following chapter' or 'the following Monday', pointing forward to something specified shortly afterwards. In formal contexts it also acts as a preposition, replacing 'after': 'Following the announcement, shares rose sharply.' The word derives from the Old English verb 'folgian', meaning to accompany or pursue, and has retained the notion of tracking behind something in space, time, or allegiance. Its connotations range from loyalty and devotion, when describing supporters, to simple temporal succession in its adjective and prepositional uses. This flexibility makes following both practical and precise across everyday speech, journalism, and formal writing.
A group of supporters, admirers, or adherents of a particular person, movement, belief, or activity.
"The podcast quickly gained a substantial international following."
Often used with adjectives such as 'large', 'loyal', or 'cult' to characterize the size and intensity of support.
Coming next in sequence, or occurring immediately after something in time.
"The matter was resolved at the following meeting."
Commonly used with dates, days, chapters, or sections.
Used to indicate that something happens after, or as a result of, a stated event or circumstance.
"Following her retirement, she moved to the countryside."
Considered more formal than 'after'; frequent in news, legal, and corporate language.
Rarely used; the plural is uncommon and typically avoided, since 'a following' already denotes a group and writers usually speak of separate groups' followings only in specialized contexts.
"Both authors have devoted followings among fantasy readers."
A word can be three parts of speech at once: 'following' can name your fans, describe tomorrow, and replace the words 'after' entirely.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of following
Following derives from the Old English verb 'folgian' (also 'fylgian'), meaning to follow, accompany, or attend upon someone, which itself traces back to Proto-Germanic roots related to pursuing or accompanying. The word family includes the Germanic cognates found in Dutch ('volgen') and German ('folgen'), which preserve the same root. From this verb developed the present participle form '-ing', which in English took on independent lives as a noun denoting a body of adherents and as an adjective and preposition marking what comes after.
Related word forms
How following is actually used
As a preposition, 'following' is a formal alternative to 'after' and is common in business and legal writing; some style guides discourage overuse where a simpler conjunction would do. The noun sense often appears with modifiers such as 'large', 'devoted', or 'cult'.
Easily confused with following
'Followed' is the past tense of the verb 'to follow', while 'following' functions as a noun naming a body of supporters, or as an adjective/preposition meaning subsequent.