to follow through
5
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈfɑloʊ θru/
- Specialized
:
acompañar el movimiento
- To improve your golf swing, make sure to follow through after hitting the ball.
- the ball, followed through
- head down and follow through
- released the ball, followed through
Examples
-
Follow through with the action until you think it matches the subject's speed.
Academic text (1995) -
Keep your head down and follow through.
-
You gotta plant your left foot down and follow through.
-
And then release the ball and follow through.
-
Center your weight, breathe in, focus and follow through.
-
Let your hip follow through.
Fiction book (2002) -
Now release the shutter, but follow through like in a golf stroke.
Academic text (1995) -
But you've got to follow through with that backhand.
-
I approached the ball, breathed in slowly, then out, pulled the club back and swung, remembering to keep my head down and follow through.
Fiction book (1994) -
P96 Bryan moved back and forth across the tennis court with long, graceful strides, meeting the ball at just the right instant, the racket head following through to the perfect spot.
Fiction book (1999)
Antonyms
How Complete
- Specialized
5
3.0
67
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'follow' (to go after/continue with or carry out) and 'through' (completely), yielding the sense of carrying an action to its completion; the sports sense of completing a swing is a predictable, domain-specific application of this compositional meaning. This verb+particle pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
In sports, the sense of follow through comes from hitting a ball: you follow the motion through the ball so your arm keeps moving after the hit. That's why it means 'to finish a swing or strike so it has power and accuracy'.