follow through

verb, noun — 5 senses

follow through

verbalso spelled follow-through
1

Idiomatic To execute or complete a commitment.

  • I don't appreciate salesmen who make promises and then fail to follow through.
  • Try and follow through with your strategy.
1 more example
  • They kicked around some ideas for doing their own thing, like moonlighting as music video producers, but they never followed through.2023 October 19, Brendan I. Koerner, “Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era”, in Wired, →ISSN:
2

Idiomatic To continue moving the arms (and any held implements, such as a bat or club) or legs after striking e.g. a ball.

3

Euphemistic, Slang To defecate unintentionally as a result of a cough or sneeze, etc.

  • It looked like he'd just farted and followed through.2013, Dave Cousins, Waiting for Gonzo:
  • LORNA WYNDE: You cried so hard, you followed through in Oddbins.2014, Toast of London (TV series), "Fool in Love" (episode)
Derived terms
follow-through, followthrough
Related terms
follow on, follow up

follow-through

noun

Etymology Deverbal from follow through.

1

The continuance or completion of a project.

  • Trump's follow-through on his threat of steep tariffs - which were long speculated to be a negotiation tactic to get concessions on border security - have bewildered Canadians, who have enjoyed close economic, social and security ties to the US for decades.2025 February 2, Nadine Yousif, “Canadian fans boo US anthem as tariffs spur 'buy local' pledge”, in BBC News:
2

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The continued action of a stroke, or of the delivery of a ball, after it has been hit or released.

Related terms
follow-up, followup

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for follow through and follow-through.