follow vs mark

follow

verb
  • To understand, to pay attention to. 

  • To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a profession or calling. 

  • To subscribe to see content from an account on a social media platform. 

  • To live one's life according to (religion, teachings, etc). 

  • To carry out (orders, instructions, etc.). 

  • To be a logical consequence of something. 

  • To watch, to keep track of (reports of) some event or person. 

  • To go or come after in a sequence. 

  • To go after; to pursue; to move behind in the same path or direction, especially with the intent of catching. 

noun
  • In billiards and similar games, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it. 

  • The act of following another user's online activity. 

mark

verb
  • To focus one's attention on (something or someone); to pay attention to, to take note of. 

  • To choose or intend (someone) for a particular end or purpose. 

  • To identify (someone as a particular type of person or as having a particular role). 

  • To catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick. 

  • To have a long-lasting negative impact on (someone or something). 

  • To put a mark on (something); to make (something) recognizable by a mark; to label or write on (something). 

  • To leave a mark (often an undesirable or unwanted one) on (something). 

  • To indicate (something) in writing or by other symbols. 

  • To be a point in time or space at which something takes place; to accompany or be accompanied by (an event, action, etc.); to coincide with. 

  • To create (a mark) on a surface. 

  • To hold (someone) in one's line of sight. 

  • To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind. 

  • To indicate the correctness of and give a score to (a school assignment, exam answers, etc.). 

  • To record that (someone) has a particular status. 

  • To put a marker in the place of one's ball. 

  • To sing softly, sometimes an octave lower than usual, in order to protect one's voice during a rehearsal. 

  • To create an indication of (a location). 

  • To keep account of; to enumerate and register; to keep score. 

  • To assign (someone) to a particular category or class. 

  • To be an indication of (something); to show where (something) is located. 

  • To follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily. 

  • To be typical or characteristic of (something). 

  • To distinguish (one person or thing from another). 

noun
  • A particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral). 

  • A score for a sporting achievement. 

  • A stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc. 

  • A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers. 

  • A half pound, a traditional unit of mass equivalent to 226.8 g. 

  • A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples. 

  • Importance, noteworthiness. (Generally in postmodifier “of mark”.) 

  • A catch of the ball directly from a kick of 10 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick. 

  • A visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional. 

  • A sign or brand on a person. 

  • A target for shooting at with a projectile. 

  • Other similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold. 

  • The model number of a device; a device model. 

  • A specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures. 

  • An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something. 

  • A characteristic or essential attribute; a differential. 

  • An official note that is added to a record kept about someone's behavior or performance. 

  • The target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game. 

  • One of the bits of leather or coloured bunting placed upon a sounding line at intervals of from two to five fathoms. (The unmarked fathoms are called "deeps".) 

  • An indication or sign used for reference or measurement. 

  • Attention. 

  • Badge or sign of honour, rank, or official station. 

  • A characteristic feature. 

  • A written character or sign. 

  • A half pound, a former English and Scottish currency equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence and notionally equivalent to a mark of sterling silver. 

  • The line indicating an athlete's starting-point. 

  • Similar half-pound units in other measurement systems, chiefly used for gold and silver. 

  • A score for finding the correct answer, or other academic achievement; the sum of such points gained as out of a possible total. 

  • Limit or standard of action or fact. 

  • A former currency of Germany and West Germany. 

How often have the words follow and mark occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )