Following crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Following” are NEXT, STOP or STAY, with 4 letters. Below are 45 answers from 4 to 15 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

NEXT 4 letters · adjective

immediately following in time or order “next in line”

CHASE 5 letters · noun

the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture

SECOND 6 letters · noun

following the first in an ordering or series “he came in a close second”

PURSUIT 7 letters · noun

the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture “the culprit started to run and the cop took off in pursuit”

PURSUING 8 letters · adjective

following in order to overtake or capture or as accompaniment to such pursuit “the fox fled from the pursuing hounds”

FOLLOWERS 9 letters · noun

a group of followers or enthusiasts

SUCCEEDING 10 letters · adjective

coming after or following

VACCINATION 11 letters · noun

the scar left following inoculation with a vaccine

CONVENTIONAL 12 letters · adjective

following accepted customs and proprieties “conventional wisdom”

SPORTSMANSHIP 13 letters · noun

fairness in following the rules of the game

INCONSEQUENTIAL 15 letters · adjective

not following logically as a consequence

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, NEXT, STOP, STAY, FALL, HALT and DUSK all fit. The first letter settles most of it: N → NEXT · S → STOP, STAY · F → FALL · H → HALT · D → DUSK. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, CHASE, CHECK, STALK and HITCH all fit. The first letter settles most of it: C → CHASE, CHECK · S → STALK · H → HITCH. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, SECOND, ARREST and COLUMN all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: S → SECOND · A → ARREST · C → COLUMN. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “followings” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “following” means

• adjective: about to be mentioned or specified (“the following items”)
• adjective: immediately following in time or order (“the following day”)
• adjective: going or proceeding or coming after in the same direction (“the crowd of following cars made the occasion seem like a parade”)
• adjective: in the desired direction (“a following wind”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as FOLLOWING, and words whose definition is FOLLOWING. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.