to follow orders
60
2.9
- phrasal verb
:
obedecer órdenes
- Follow orders or the whole thing falls apart.
You know, I was just following orders, right?
- You know, I was just following orders, right?
- And he said, well, you are trained to follow orders.
- It's not a bunch of blind robots following orders.
- But with Iraq, you guys are following orders.
- So I got, I got an immediate well, I got chastised for not following orders and being at the airport.
- And, and, and let me be clear, the guys that we spoke to, they were following orders.
- You can't, you can't be this invisible person that writes reports about people and then you can just sit back and say, oh, I was following orders.
- And no, the Trump STOPO is not saying they're just following orders.
- Do I continue to, do I just follow my orders and let the people I'm entrusted with leading suffer as a result?
Examples
-
Some in the military will just follow orders, but who will be giving them the orders?
Blog text (26) -
They were just following orders from the top.
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People follow orders without the use of force, generally.
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Why is it so hard for you to follow orders?
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We're here to follow orders.
-
Please, I was just following orders.
-
I just want to be clear that across this next stretch, you need to follow my orders to the letter.
-
The institution is sustained by individuals who will persevere, follow orders, and sacrifice for a greater cause.
Academic text (1993) -
I'm following orders.
-
During the mission, all crew members were instructed to follow orders without hesitation.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To act according to rules, advice, or beliefs
411
1.0
Do what someone in charge tells you or follow a rule
332
3.8
Do what a rule or person asks
81
3.2
To accept and follow directions from a person in charge
79
3.9
To follow rules or instructions
18
4.3
To follow rules or other people after not wanting to at first
Antonyms
How Obedient
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to do what someone in authority tells you to do' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'follow' (to act according to instructions) with 'orders' (official commands). This verb + noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern equivalent to 'obey', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand the MWE, including the implied nuance of complying without questioning.
Etymology
Follow orders comes from the clear image of soldiers who hear a command and do exactly what they are told: follow means to go after or do what someone asks, and orders are commands from a leader. So it now means 'to do what someone in charge tells you to do', often without asking questions.