followup

IPA/fˈɒləʊˌʌp/
KK[fˈɑloˌʌp]IPA/fˈɑːloʊˌʌp/

followup — adjective

1. describing a meeting, message, study, or task that comes after an earlier one an

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a meeting, message, study, or task that comes after an earlier one and builds on what happened the first time

Example

Christopher sent a short followup email to the client the next morning.

attributive: followup + email

The team scheduled a followup meeting to review the changes from last week.

collocation: followup meeting

Common collocations
  • followup meeting
  • followup email
  • followup question
  • followup study
  • followup report
Synonyms
  • subsequent

    more formal; describes anything that comes after, not specifically continuing earlier work

  • supplementary

    adds extra material rather than continuing or checking on earlier work

Antonyms
  • initial

    the first one rather than a later one

Grammar Patterns

followup + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun (attributive). Rarely appears after a linking verb such as 'be'.

Common Mistakes

The meeting was followup.
It was a followup meeting.
this adjective normally sits in front of a noun, not after 'be'.

2. describing a visit, call, or appointment whose purpose is to check on someone, e

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a visit, call, or appointment whose purpose is to check on someone, especially a patient, after earlier treatment or contact

Example

Nadia booked a followup appointment with her dentist for the next month.

collocation: followup appointment

The clinic in Taichung makes followup calls to every patient after surgery.

collocation: followup calls (medical)

Common collocations
  • followup visit
  • followup appointment
  • followup call
  • followup care
Synonyms
  • monitoring

    broader; suggests ongoing watching rather than a single later visit

Grammar Patterns

followup + noun (visit, appointment, call)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on monitoring a person's condition or situation, while sense 1 covers any later work that builds on an earlier task.

followup — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name something that comes after an earlier event, but they sit in different worlds. A 'followup' is the everyday business or workplace word: an email, a meeting, a question, or a piece of work that picks up where the first one left off. A 'sequel' belongs to creative work and storytelling — it usually names a second book, film, or game in a series, not an office message. A 'continuation' stresses that the same project keeps going without much of a break, while a followup may be a short, separate action. An 'update' simply gives the latest news; it does not have to add new work or new contact, while a followup usually does. Compare: 'I'll send a quick followup tomorrow' (a fresh email), 'I read the sequel last summer' (book two), 'this paper is a continuation of her thesis' (same project), 'here's a quick update on the budget' (just news).

followup ↗sequelcontinuation ↗update ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • followup meeting
  • followup call
  • followup email
  • followup question
  • followup visit
  • followup study
  • followup care

Phrases

  • as a followup
  • for a followup
  • in followup to

Prepositions

  • followup to
  • followup on
  • followup with

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Formed in English in the late 1800s by joining the verb 'follow' and the small word 'up'. 'Follow' goes back to Old English 'folgian', meaning to go after someone. The two-word phrasal verb 'follow up' was used first; over time, English speakers wrote the noun and adjective uses as one word, 'followup' (or sometimes with a hyphen, 'follow-up'), to mark them clearly as a single thing or modifier rather than an action.