Word definition: after

Etimology


From Middle English after, from Old English æfter, from Proto-West Germanic *aftar, from Proto-Germanic *after, *aftiri, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epoteros (“further behind, further away”), from *h₂epo (“off, away”). Cognate with Scots efter (“after”), North Frisian efter (“after, behind”), West Frisian after, achter, efter (“behind; after”), Low German/Dutch achter (“behind”), German after- (“after-”), Swedish/Danish efter (“after”), Norwegian etter (“after”), Icelandic eftir (“after”), aftur (“back, again”). The Irish usage to indicate recent completion of an activity is a calque of the Irish collocation Táim tar éis... (“I have just...”, literally “I am after...”).

adverb


after (not comparable)

Behind; later in time; following.

On the result of. Often used with verbs related to cleaning.

Examples


I left the room, and the dog bounded after.

They lived happily ever after.

I might come next month, or the month after.

I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?

preposition


after

Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

Behind.

In pursuit of, seeking.

In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing.

Next in importance or rank.

As a result of.

In spite of.

(Ireland, Newfoundland, usually preceded by a form of be, followed by an -ing form of a verb) Used to indicate recent completion of an activity

(dated) According to an author or text.

Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to.

(obsolete) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting.

Examples


We had a few beers after the game.

The time is quarter after eight.

The Cold War began shortly after WWII.

After you with the salt/paper.

I told her to shut the door after her.

I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

After early sparring, Spurs started to take control as the interval approached and twice came close to taking the lead. Terry blocked Rafael van der Vaart's header on the line and the same player saw his cross strike the post after Adebayor was unable to apply a touch.

From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile

He will leave a trail of destruction after him.

Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, […] , and the light of the reflector fell full upon her.

He's after a job; run after him; inquire after her health.

We named him after his grandfather; a painting after Leonardo da Vinci.

Work your horse in a calade, after the Italian way; ride him straight, and then you make good use of the calade.

The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince.

After your bad behaviour, you will be punished.

After all that has happened, he is still my friend.

I can't believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!

I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door.

He was after walking on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before, all the way from the County Limerick, where his brother, Father John, has a parish; and you may believe, the poor man was tired

Mother: Let him get away out of this now, himself and his share of songs. Look at the way he has your bib destroyed that I was after washing in the morning!

When I woke up it was black-dark and the music was after stopping. I could taste the bread I was after eating in the dream, as sweet and luscious as any I ever knew

He asked directions to the dairy those milk cans had shown up late at. Corrigan pointed back the way he'd come and explained, “You'd have been after riding past their loading platform because they don't have their sign overlooking where the train would be after stopping.

"Yes. And where were you when the flood broke loose?" / "I would be most of the way to the Old House then. O'Loughlin was after running in wild to tell me he was hearing the Banshee out at The Old House, […] ."

to look after workmen; to enquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness

He takes greatness of kingdoms according to bulk and currency, and not after their intrinsic value.

Related words


synonyms

post

conjunction


after

Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause.

Examples


I went home after we had decided to call it a day.

It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.

So you punched out a window for ventilation. Was that before or after you noticed you were standing in a lake of gasoline?

Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.

adjective


after

(dated) Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent

(nautical, where the frame of reference is within the ship) At or towards the stern of a ship.

Examples


I did verily believe in my own mind, that I couldn't fight in that way at all; but my after experience convinced me that this was all a notion.

The amends he had made in after life were lost sight of in the dramatic glare of the original act.

In the old days, […] he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […] and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.

The after gun is mounted aft.

The after gun is abaft the forward gun.

Caspian led them down a ladder into the after hatch.

noun


after (plural afters)

Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.

Examples


Coordinate term: before

In the ‘before’ shots, she’ll look like an ordinary suburban housewife; but we know she acts in community theater musicals sometimes, so the ‘afters’ will give her a glamorous starlet image, starting with a very revealing bathing suit shot.

Did any of the before pictures remind you of yourself, and did any of the afters show what you hoped your results might be?

So with that in mind, we thought it might be helpful to put some pictures where our mouths are, and include some less-than-flattering photos of our first house after we’d lived there eight whole months. Spoiler alert: We were miiiles away from the “afters” that we shared on pages 6 and 7.

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