folder

American  

[fohl-der] / ˈfoʊl dər /

noun

• folders
  plural

1. a person or thing that folds.

2. a printed sheet, as a circular or timetable, folded into a number of usually pagelike sections.

3. a folded sheet of light cardboard used to cover or hold papers, letters, etc., as in a file.

4. Computers. directory.

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folder British  

/ ˈfəʊldə /

noun

1. a binder or file for holding loose papers, etc

2. a folded circular

3. a machine for folding printed sheets

4. a person or thing that folds

5. computing another name for directory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• folders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of folder

First recorded in 1545–55; fold ¹ + -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

folder folders

He opens a folder and takes out a stack of large photographs: portraits of prisoners.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

After recording the calls, Regan uploaded the files to a Google Drive folder that he shared as training materials with the insurance agents who sold Next Level and Yield.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Clutching under his arm a blue folder stuffed with documents, maps, and cadastral surveys, Balliu said he has been threatened several times for trying to assert his rights.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

A simple way to imagine this is like making two photocopies of a document but accidentally placing both copies into the same folder instead of separating them.

From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026

I pull a folder labeled “Around the World” from the middle of the box and flip it open.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

A July trip to Target to get everything on her list — among the items, two packs of wired headphones, Band-Aids, eight folders and four composition notebooks — cost about $230.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

The target folders ensured that agents apprehended the correct person.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

The lawsuit claims that Liu did not return an Apple-issued work laptop and exploited a “rare, previously unknown” bug to access Apple’s shared network folders while employed at OpenAI.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

Part of the problem comes in the form of filing cabinets, manila folders and legacy digital databases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

With folders and top markings outlining historical events.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

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Related Words

• binder
• file
• pocket

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