fold up

British  

verb

1. (tr) to make smaller or more compact

2. (intr) to collapse, as with laughter or pain

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fold up Idioms  

1. Fail, especially go out of business. For example, Three stores on Main Street have folded up .

2. Collapse, break down. For example, When she told him about the dog's death, she folded up . This idiom alludes to closing or bringing an object into more compact form. [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

But after moments in front of the class that felt more like years, Kathy clumsily folded up her unread poem, stuffed it into her pocket, and ran home almost halfway through the rez.

From Literature

The studios would rent for about $1,500 a month and weren’t that small, he said, given modular furniture—beds that fold up, closets that pop out.

From The Wall Street Journal

With that, the superintendent and his assistant folded up their forms and reached for their overcoats.

From Literature

Then I carefully fold up the newspaper page and put it in my bag.

From Literature

As I folded up the sweater, I wondered what my mother had been like.

From Literature

Related Words

• collapse
• crash
• decline
• decrease
• depreciate
• diminish
• dip
• dive
• dwindle
• ease
• go down
• land
• plummet
• plunge
• settle
• sink
• slip
• slump
• stumble
• tumble