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Meetings & Communicationnoun|verb|phrase · /ˈfɒl.oʊ.ʌp/

follow-up

In simple English

In tech workplaces, follow-up refers to the act of revisiting a topic, issue, or task after an initial discussion or action. It is essential for ensuring accountability and maintaining momentum on projects. Follow-ups commonly occur after meetings, code reviews, bug reports, or customer issues. For example, a manager might schedule a follow-up meeting to review progress on a feature, or a developer might follow up with a team member about feedback on a pull request. The term is used both as a noun (a follow-up meeting, a follow-up email) and as a verb (to follow up with someone about a decision). Using follow-ups effectively demonstrates professionalism and commitment to seeing tasks through completion.

Understand how to use follow-up in tech meetings and professional communication to track progress and ensure accountability.

At a glanceCEFR B2
Commonness5/5
Versatility5/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDirect
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓I will send you a follow-up email with more details
✓Let me follow up on that action item from last week
✓We need a follow-up call to discuss the test results

Real examples

in a standup

"I will follow up with the backend team about the API integration issue we discussed yesterday."

in a code review

"This is good work. I have a few comments, and I will send a follow-up with suggestions for optimization."

in a team meeting

"Before we close, let us schedule a follow-up meeting for next week to review the deployment checklist."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Follow-up is a noun or verb phrase; do not confuse with 'follow up on' (phrasal verb). Also, do not hyphenate when used as a verb after 'to': 'to follow up' not 'to follow-up'.

✕I need to follow-up the issue with the QA team.
✓I need to follow up with the QA team about the issue.— The verb form is 'follow up' (two words), not 'follow-up'. The hyphenated form is used as a noun or adjective only.
✕Let me follow-up you next week.
✓Let me follow up with you next week.— Use 'follow up with' (someone), not 'follow up' alone. The preposition 'with' is needed to show who you are following up.
✕We need a follow-up on this bug report immediately.
✓We need to follow up on this bug report immediately.— Both are acceptable, but 'follow up on' emphasizes the action more directly. 'A follow-up' is also correct when used as a noun at the start.

Other forms

noun

follow-up

"The follow-up from our last meeting is due by Friday."

verb

follow up

"I will follow up with you about the deployment timeline."

adjective

follow-up

"We scheduled a follow-up meeting to review the results."

Often used with

follow-up meetingA scheduled meeting held after an initial meeting to check progress or discuss results
follow-up emailAn email sent after a discussion or action to confirm details or provide updates
follow up onPhrasal verb meaning to investigate or pursue something further
follow up withPhrasal verb meaning to contact someone to continue a conversation or check status
schedule a follow-upTo arrange a future action or meeting to revisit a topic

Similar words

check-inSimilar meaning but more informal; used for quick status updates rather than formal reviews
touchbaseTo contact someone briefly for an update; less formal and more spontaneous than follow-up
revisitTo return to a topic or issue; used when examining something discussed before
pursueTo continue effort on something; broader term not specific to communication

Opposites

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your colleague missed the deployment meeting. How do you say it?

Complete the sentence

2. We discussed the security audit in the meeting, so I will send you a _______ email with the action items.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses 'follow-up' incorrectly?

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite this in natural tech English using 'follow-up': 'After we talked about the bug, we need to check if the developers fixed it.'

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "follow-up" in a standup this week?

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