"follow through" meaning in English

See follow through in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-follow through.ogg [Australia] Forms: follows through [present, singular, third-person], following through [participle, present], followed through [participle, past], followed through [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} follow through (third-person singular simple present follows through, present participle following through, simple past and past participle followed through)
  1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To execute or complete a commitment. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive Translations (complete a commitment): in die Tat umsetzen (German)
    Sense id: en-follow_through-en-verb-sQOgk-u3 Disambiguation of 'complete a commitment': 99 1 0
  2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive
    Sense id: en-follow_through-en-verb-HR1Clrhd
  3. (intransitive, slang, euphemistic) To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc. Tags: euphemistic, intransitive, slang Derived forms: follow-through [noun], followthrough [noun] Related terms: follow on [verb], follow up [verb]
    Sense id: en-follow_through-en-verb-YiCM6phX Categories (other): English euphemisms, English entries with incorrect language header, English links with manual fragments, English phrasal verbs with particle (through) Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 8 26 66 Disambiguation of English links with manual fragments: 15 26 60 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs with particle (through): 19 24 56

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for follow through meaning in English (3.7kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "follows through",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "following through",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "followed through",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "followed through",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "follow through (third-person singular simple present follows through, present participle following through, simple past and past participle followed through)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I don't appreciate salesmen who make promises and then fail to follow through.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 October 19, Brendan I. Koerner, “Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era”, in Wired, →ISSN",
          "text": "They kicked around some ideas for doing their own thing, like moonlighting as music video producers, but they never followed through.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To execute or complete a commitment."
      ],
      "id": "en-follow_through-en-verb-sQOgk-u3",
      "links": [
        [
          "execute",
          "execute"
        ],
        [
          "complete",
          "complete"
        ],
        [
          "commitment",
          "commitment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To execute or complete a commitment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1 0",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "complete a commitment",
          "word": "in die Tat umsetzen"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "backswing"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball."
      ],
      "id": "en-follow_through-en-verb-HR1Clrhd",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English euphemisms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 26 66",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 26 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 24 56",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (through)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "22 21 57",
          "tags": [
            "noun"
          ],
          "word": "follow-through"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "22 21 57",
          "tags": [
            "noun"
          ],
          "word": "followthrough"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013, Dave Cousins, Waiting for Gonzo",
          "text": "It looked like he'd just farted and followed through.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Toast of London (TV series), \"Fool in Love\" (episode)",
          "text": "LORNA WYNDE: You cried so hard, you followed through in Oddbins."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc."
      ],
      "id": "en-follow_through-en-verb-YiCM6phX",
      "links": [
        [
          "defecate",
          "defecate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, slang, euphemistic) To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "14 13 73",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "follow on"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "14 13 73",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "follow up"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic",
        "intransitive",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-follow through.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/53/En-au-follow_through.ogg/En-au-follow_through.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/En-au-follow_through.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "follow through"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (through)",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ],
      "word": "follow-through"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "noun"
      ],
      "word": "followthrough"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "follows through",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "following through",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "followed through",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "followed through",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "follow through (third-person singular simple present follows through, present participle following through, simple past and past participle followed through)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "follow on"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "follow up"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I don't appreciate salesmen who make promises and then fail to follow through.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 October 19, Brendan I. Koerner, “Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era”, in Wired, →ISSN",
          "text": "They kicked around some ideas for doing their own thing, like moonlighting as music video producers, but they never followed through.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To execute or complete a commitment."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "execute",
          "execute"
        ],
        [
          "complete",
          "complete"
        ],
        [
          "commitment",
          "commitment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To execute or complete a commitment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "backswing"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English euphemisms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2013, Dave Cousins, Waiting for Gonzo",
          "text": "It looked like he'd just farted and followed through.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Toast of London (TV series), \"Fool in Love\" (episode)",
          "text": "LORNA WYNDE: You cried so hard, you followed through in Oddbins."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "defecate",
          "defecate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, slang, euphemistic) To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic",
        "intransitive",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-follow through.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/53/En-au-follow_through.ogg/En-au-follow_through.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/En-au-follow_through.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "complete a commitment",
      "word": "in die Tat umsetzen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "follow through"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.