fold

1
[ fohld ]
See synonyms for: foldfoldedfoldingfolds on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to bend (cloth, paper, etc.) over upon itself.

  2. to bring into a compact form by bending and laying parts together (often followed by up): to fold up a map; to fold one's legs under oneself.

  1. to bring (the arms, hands, etc.) together in an intertwined or crossed manner; cross; entwine: He folded his arms on his chest.

  2. to bend or wind (usually followed by about, round, etc.): to fold one's arms about a person's neck.

  3. to bring (the wings) close to the body, as a bird on alighting.

  4. to enclose; wrap; envelop: to fold something in paper.

  5. to embrace or clasp; enfold: to fold someone in one's arms.

  6. Cards. to place (one's cards) facedown so as to withdraw from the play.

  7. Informal. to bring to an end; close up: The owner decided to fold the business and retire.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be folded or be capable of folding: The doors fold back.

  2. Cards. to place one's cards facedown so as to withdraw from the play.

  1. Informal. to fail in business; be forced to close: The newspaper folded after 76 years.

  2. Informal. to yield or give in: Dad folded and said we could go after all.

noun
  1. a part that is folded; pleat; layer: folds of cloth.

  2. a crease made by folding: He cut the paper along the fold.

  1. a hollow made by folding: to carry something in the fold of one's dress.

  2. a hollow place in undulating ground: a fold of the mountains.

  3. Geology. a portion of strata that is folded or bent, as an anticline or syncline, or that connects two horizontal or parallel portions of strata of different levels (as a monocline).

  4. Journalism.

    • the line formed along the horizontal center of a standard-sized newspaper when it is folded after printing.

    • a rough-and-ready dividing line, especially on the front page and other principal pages, between stories of primary and lesser importance.

  5. a coil of a serpent, string, etc.

  6. the act of folding or doubling over.

  7. Anatomy. a margin or ridge formed by the folding of a membrane or other flat body part; plica.

Verb Phrases
  1. fold in, Cooking. to mix in or add (an ingredient) by gently turning one part over another: Fold in the egg whites.

  2. fold up, Informal.

    • to break down; collapse: He folded up when the prosecutor discredited his story.

    • to fail, especially to go out of business.

Origin of fold

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb folden, falden, faulden, Old English fealdan, faldan; cognate with Gothic falthan, Old Norse falda, German falten; akin to Latin plicāre “to fold,” plectere to plait, twine,” Greek plékein “to braid, knit”; cf. plait; see origin at -fold

Other words from fold

  • fold·a·ble, adjective

Words Nearby fold

Other definitions for fold (2 of 3)

fold2
[ fohld ]

noun
  1. an enclosure for sheep or, occasionally, other domestic animals.

  2. the sheep kept within it.

  1. a flock of sheep.

  2. a church.

  3. the members of a church; congregation: He preached to the fold.

  4. a group sharing common beliefs, values, etc.: He rejoined the fold after his youthful escapade.

verb (used with object)
  1. to confine (sheep or other domestic animals) in a fold.

Origin of fold

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English fold, fald, feld “sheepfold,” Old English fald, falod, falud “sheepfold, ox stall, stable”; akin to Old Saxon faled “pen, enclosure,” Middle Low German vaalt “pen, enclosure, manure heap,” Middle Dutch vaelt, vaelde

Other definitions for -fold (3 of 3)

-fold

  1. a native English suffix meaning “of so many parts,” or denoting multiplication by the number indicated by the stem or word to which the suffix is attached: twofold; manifold.

Origin of -fold

3
Middle English; Old English -fald, -feald, cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon -fald,German -falt,Old Norse -faldr,Gothic -falths, all representing the Germanic base of fold1; akin to Greek -ploos, -plous (see haplo-, diplo-), Latin -plus (see simple, double, etc.), -plex-plex

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fold in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fold (1 of 3)

fold1

/ (fəʊld) /


verb
  1. to bend or be bent double so that one part covers another: to fold a sheet of paper

  2. (tr) to bring together and intertwine (the arms, legs, etc): she folded her hands

  1. (tr) (of birds, insects, etc) to close (the wings) together from an extended position

  2. (tr; often foll by up or in) to enclose in or as if in a surrounding material

  3. (tr foll by in) to clasp (a person) in the arms

  4. (tr usually foll by round, about, etc) to wind (around); entwine

  5. (tr) poetic to cover completely: night folded the earth

  6. Also: fold in (tr) to mix (a whisked mixture) with other ingredients by gently turning one part over the other with a spoon

  7. to produce a bend (in stratified rock) or (of stratified rock) to display a bend

  8. (intr often foll by up) informal to collapse; fail: the business folded

noun
  1. a piece or section that has been folded: a fold of cloth

  2. a mark, crease, or hollow made by folding

  1. a hollow in undulating terrain

  2. a bend in stratified rocks that results from movements within the earth's crust and produces such structures as anticlines and synclines

  3. anatomy another word for plica (def. 1)

  4. a coil, as in a rope, etc

  5. an act of folding

Origin of fold

1
Old English fealdan; related to Old Norse falda , Old High German faldan, Latin duplus double, Greek haploos simple

Derived forms of fold

  • foldable, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for fold (2 of 3)

fold2

/ (fəʊld) /


noun
    • a small enclosure or pen for sheep or other livestock, where they can be gathered

    • the sheep or other livestock gathered in such an enclosure

    • a flock of sheep

    • a herd of Highland cattle

  1. a church or the members of it

  1. any group or community sharing a way of life or holding the same values

verb
  1. (tr) to gather or confine (sheep or other livestock) in a fold

Origin of fold

2
Old English falod; related to Old Saxon faled, Middle Dutch vaelt

British Dictionary definitions for -fold (3 of 3)

-fold

suffix forming adjectives, suffix forming adverbs
  1. having so many parts, being so many times as much or as many, or multiplied by so much or so many: threefold; three-hundredfold

Origin of -fold

3
Old English -fald, -feald

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fold

fold

[ fōld ]


  1. A bend in a layer of rock or in another planar feature such as foliation or the cleavage of a mineral. Folds occur as the result of deformation, usually associated with plate-tectonic forces.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with fold

fold

In addition to the idioms beginning with fold

  • fold one's tent
  • fold up

also see:

  • return to the fold

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.