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What is the difference between following and next?

following | next |

As adjectives the difference between following and next

is that following is coming next, either in sequence or in time while next is following in a sequence.

As prepositions the difference between following and next

is that following is after, subsequent to while next is on the side of; next to.

As nouns the difference between following and next

is that following is a group of followers, attendants or admirers; an entourage while next is the one that follows after this one.

As a determiner next is

the one immediately following the current or most recent one.

As an adverb next is

in a time, place or sequence closest or following.

following

English

Adjective

(-)
  • Coming next, either in sequence or in time.
  • * 1835 , Sir , Sir (James Clark Ross), Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Volume 1 , pp.284-5
    • Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
  • About to be specified.
  • (of a wind) Blowing in the direction of travel.

    • Usage notes

    (Senses 1, 2) When it modifies a noun phrase, it is generally preceded by the definite article the'', and the combination functions as a determiner rather than a simple adjective. You can put it before a cardinal like ''the following two remarks'' instead of ''the two following remarks .

    Antonyms

    * abovementioned * aforementioned * aforesaid

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • After, subsequent to.
    • Following the meeting, we all had a chat.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A group of followers, attendants or admirers; an entourage.
    • He had a loyal following .
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 29 , author=Jon Smith , title=Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=And White Hart Lane was stunned when Rovers scored just five minutes after the restart in front of their away following .}}
  • Something to be mentioned immediately later. Used with the definite article the .
    • The following is a recommendation letter from the president.
  • Vocation; business; profession.

    • Statistics

    *

    next

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (dialectal) * (l) (Scotland)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Following in a sequence.
  • Being closer to the present location than all other items.
  • * , chapter=8
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.}}
  • Nearest following (of date, time, space or order).
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Out of the gloom , passage=[Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.}}
  • (figuratively) Following in a hypothetical sequence of some kind.
  • *

    • Antonyms

    * previous * (closest to seven days ahead) last, this

    Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • The one immediately following the current or most recent one
    • Next week would be a good time to meet.
    I'll know better next time.
  • Closest to seven days (one week) in the future.
    • The party is next Tuesday; that is, not this Tuesday, but nine days from now.

    Adverb

    (-)
  • In a time, place or sequence closest or following.
    • They live in the next closest house.
    It's the next best thing to ice cream.
    Next , we stripped off the old paint.
  • On the first subsequent occasion,
    • Financial panic, earthquakes, oil spills, riots. What comes next ?
    When we next meet, you'll be married.

    Antonyms

    * previously

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • On the side of; next to.
  • * 1900 , The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices , translated by Walter Leaf (London, Macmillan), notes on line 558 of book 2:
    • The fact that the line cannot be original is patent from the fact that Aias in the rest of the Iliad is not encamped next the Athenians .

    Noun

    (-)
  • The one that follows after this one.
    • ''Next , please, don't hold up the queue!

    Statistics

    * 200 English basic words English sequence adverbs 1000 English basic words ----