followed
verb
Form of follow , past tense of follow.
Simple meaning
To travel behind, go after, come after.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fahlohdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɑloʊd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
past tense of follow
To travel behind, go after, come after
“The ducklings followed their mother around the pond.”
past tense of follow
Come after in time, as a result
“A terrible tsunami followed the earthquake.”
past tense of followambitransitive
To go or come after in a sequence.
past tense of followambitransitive
To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: To travel behind, go after, come after
Used this way, followed is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The ducklings followed their mother around the pond.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use followed
- “The ducklings followed their mother around the pond.”verb
- “A terrible tsunami followed the earthquake.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “followed” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.