fold

SayFOHLD/foʊld/UK/ˈfəʊld/

Verbfolds, folding, folded

Noun pluralfolds

36 meanings of fold

Practice

1
double oververbtransitive
To bend material over on itself, often to arrange it neatly or make it smaller.
Fold the sheet of paper in half so the edges line up exactly.
He folded the page corner down to mark his place.
UsageOften in half or in two: fold the paper in half; also fold up clothes or a letter.
Similarcrease, bend, double
Oppositeunfold
2
close up flatverbintransitive
To become folded; to take on or develop folds, whether by design or on its own.
The sofa bed folds away into the frame during the day.
Proteins fold into complex shapes inside the cell.
UsageOften with away, up, flat or into: the bed folds away, proteins fold into shapes.
Oppositeunfold
3
creasenouncountable
A bend or crease formed where a material has been doubled over on itself.
The poster arrived with a deep fold across the center from shipping.
Light caught the folds of the heavy curtain as it moved.
Similarcrease, bend
4
shut down (business)verbintransitive
Of a business, organization, or organized effort, to fail or come to an end.
The political campaign folded within weeks of the scandal.
Volunteer organizations sometimes fold when their founders move on.
Similarfail, collapse, close, founder
Oppositethrive, flourish, succeed
5
arms or wingsverbtransitive
To double or lay together, as the arms, hands, or wings, so that the parts overlap each other.
The heron folded its wings and settled onto the nest.
Interviewers notice when candidates fold their arms defensively.
UsageUsually with a possessive: fold your arms, she folded her hands.
Similarcross, tuck, close
Oppositespread, unfold, open
6
mix gentlyverbtransitive
To incorporate an ingredient into a mixture by gently lifting and turning, rather than stirring or beating, so that air is kept in.
Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mousse until just combined.
She carefully folded the flour into the beaten eggs.
UsageFold one thing into another: fold the cream into the mousse.
Similarincorporate
Note
The motion lifts and turns, usually with a spatula, so the air beaten into the lighter ingredient survives. When a recipe says fold rather than stir or beat, it is warning you that vigorous mixing now would undo the earlier work.
7
stop betting (poker)verbintransitive
To withdraw from the betting in a hand, giving up any stake already placed.
Three players folded before the flop, leaving only two in the pot.
Experienced players fold far more often than beginners expect.
Note
Poker's way of cutting losses. A player who folds stops matching bets and gives up any claim to the pot, often because the hand's chances of winning do not justify the cost of calling. The table word has spread well beyond cards, and the general 'quit' meaning carries the same flavor of a reasoned surrender.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
Folding ends a player's further betting and forfeits any claim to the pot. en.wikipedia.org
Folding forfeits money already wagered. en.wikipedia.org
Players often fold despite having a chance to improve; that chance may be too small to justify calling the bet. pokerstars.com
The river is a later community card in games such as Texas Hold'em. pokerstars.com
The general withdrawal or quitting sense extends the poker sense. en.wiktionary.org
8
buckleverbcolloquialintransitive
To fall over, collapse, or give way; to be crushed under pressure or weight.
The scaffold folded under the weight of the extra equipment.
Cheap card tables fold the moment you lean your elbows on them.
Similarcollapse, cave, crumple
Oppositehold
9
give upverbintransitive
To give up or withdraw from an activity or contest, or to give way on a point under pressure.
Two candidates folded weeks before the primary, leaving just three names on the ballot.
It would be a shame to fold now, with only two chapters of the novel left to write.
Similarquit, withdraw, yield, capitulate
Oppositepersist, persevere
10
one turn (paper)nouncountable
An act of folding, such as one step in origami.
The flag ceremony requires thirteen precise folds.
A single fold turns the sheet of paper into a simple greeting card.
UsageYou give something a fold or make a fold.
11
communitynounfiguratively
A group of people bound by shared beliefs, aims, faith, or family ties, seen as the group one belongs to ('return to the fold').
The party welcomed the defector back into the fold.
Within the open-source fold, contributors share code freely.
UsageMostly return to the fold, back into the fold, or welcome someone into the fold.
Similarcommunity, flock, camp
Note
Secular use keeps the sheep pen's sense of coming in and going out. Phil McNulty of BBC Sport has a footballer return to the fold. In 2023 Annalena Baerbock spoke of Germany being readmitted 'into the global fold', and in 2025 JD Vance hoped Elon Musk 'comes back into the fold'.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty describes a footballer returning to the fold. bbc.com
In 2023 Annalena Baerbock described Germany being readmitted into the global fold. theguardian.com
In 2025 JD Vance expressed hope that Elon Musk would return, using the quoted words. en.wiktionary.org
12
bent rock (geology)nouncountable
A bend or curve in originally flat, layered surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, produced by permanent plastic deformation.
Geologists mapped a large fold running the length of the valley.
The highway cut exposes folds in limestone formed millions of years ago.
Note
Geologists use the term for rock layers that have bent rather than broken. The deformation is plastic, so the curve stays once the pressure is gone. Folds vary in sharpness: James Dwight Dana's Manual of Geology (1862–63) describes folds that are abrupt to the east and fade westward into 'gentle undulations.'

Less common meanings

13
one partnounrarecountable
A single one of the parts of something described as manifold, twofold, fourfold, etc.
Similaraspect, facet, part, strand, element
14
sheep pennouncountable
A pen or enclosure where sheep or other domestic animals are kept.
The shepherd repaired the stone wall of the fold before lambing season.
Heavy rain turned the ground inside the fold to mud.
Similarpen, enclosure, pinfold, penfold
Note
This sheep pen comes from Old English fald, from a Germanic word for an enclosure, and it is unrelated to the bending verb. Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) has a prowler who 'leaps o're the fence with ease into the fold'. The predator-and-pen picture survives in 'like a wolf on the fold', which Robert Barr's Lord Stranleigh Abroad (1913) uses for a surprise visit. Pinfold and penfold are close relatives.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
The enclosure noun descends from Old English fald and a Germanic word meaning enclosure. en.wiktionary.org
John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. en.wikisource.org
Paradise Lost describes a prowling predator leaping into a sheepfold; the quotation modernizes Fould to fold. en.wikisource.org
Robert Barr wrote Lord Stranleigh Abroad, first published in 1913. gutenberg.org
Lord Stranleigh Abroad uses like a wolf on the fold for a surprise visit. gutenberg.org
Pinfold is etymologically related to the enclosure noun fold. en.wiktionary.org
Penfold is a variant of pinfold. en.wiktionary.org
15
cloth layernouncountable
A single layer of material, typically cloth, formed where it has been folded or wrapped.
He tucked the coins into a fold of cloth and tied it tight.
Nurses wrapped the wound in several folds of gauze.
Similarply
Note
In this sense folds can be counted like layers, and ply is a near synonym. Francis Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum (1627) describes Egyptian mummies 'shrowded in a Number of Folds of Linnen, besmeared with Gummes.' The phrase several folds of cloth means several thicknesses, not several creases.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
The first edition was published in 1627, with some title pages dated 1626. The 1631 edition is the third edition. archive.org
Francis Bacon wrote Sylva Sylvarum. crrs.library.utoronto.ca
The work describes Egyptian mummies using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
16
web pagenoun
The line dividing the part of a newspaper or web page seen first, without unfolding or scrolling, from the rest ('above the fold').
The designer moved the headline above the fold to boost engagement.
Analytics showed that half the users never scrolled below the fold.
UsageMostly in above the fold and below the fold.
Note
Web designers borrowed the term from the crease across a folded broadsheet newspaper. Jared M. Spool's Web Site Usability (1997) sets 'page 1, above the fold' beside the place where a reader must start scrolling. Unlike the newspaper's crease, this line has no fixed position, because it moves with the size of the browser window.
17
wrap upverbtransitive
To enclose someone or something in a wrapping of material; to swathe or cover.
The vendor folded the figurine in tissue paper before handing it over.
Pilgrims fold themselves in heavy cloaks against the desert wind.
UsageFold something in tissue paper, a blanket or a cloak.
Similarwrap, swathe, envelop, shroud
Oppositeunwrap
18
land curvenouncountable
A gentle curve in the surface of the land; a soft hill or shallow valley.
A stone cottage lay hidden in a fold of the hills.
Morning mist gathered in the folds of the countryside.
UsageOften a fold of the hills or in the folds of the land.
Similarhollow, dip, undulation
Note
Here the land is pictured as folded cloth, creased into soft ridges and hollows. The noun grew from the verb, Old English fealdan, 'to fold'. It is a different word from the old poetic fold meaning the earth, which goes back to Old English folde. A fold of the hills sounds as if it could belong to either, but its history runs through folding, not through the ground itself.
19
hugverbtransitive
To wrap the arms, or coils, around someone or something so as to hold it closely; to embrace.
The soldier's mother folded him in her arms at the airport.
Reunited at last, the sisters fold each other in a long embrace.
UsageUsually fold someone in your arms or to your breast; it sounds tender and a little literary.
Similarwrap, clasp, enfold
Note
In Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), a man 'put out his arms and folded her to his breast' while she wept. The prefixed verb enfold carries the same meaning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, first published in 1897. britishlibrary.cn
The quotation occurs in Dracula and describes a man embracing a weeping woman. gutenberg.org
Enfold is formed with a prefix and fold. en.wiktionary.org
Enfold also means to embrace. en.wiktionary.org
20
nounarchaic
A group of sheep or goats, especially those kept together in one enclosure.
21
noun
A section of source code that an editor can collapse out of view to improve readability.
22
verbrare
To cover something up so that it is hidden; to conceal.
I will not poyſon thee with my attaint, / Nor fold my fault in cleanly coin’d excuſes, / My ſable ground of ſinne I will not paint, / To hide the truth of this falſe nights abuſes.
1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto)
23
verbobsolete
To twist locks of hair into braids or tangle them into a mat.
24
verbobsolete
To trap or catch someone, as if in a net.
25
verb
To break a long line of text onto several shorter lines so it fits a maximum width.
26
noun
A hug or tight hold in the arms.
27
noun
Any of the loops formed when a serpent winds itself up.
28
nounobsolete
Something that wraps around or covers a thing.
29
noun
Any of the hinged sections of a door that collapses in panels as it opens.
30
noun
In functional programming, a function that works through a list or similar structure step by step, combining its parts into a single result.
31
noun
A walled or fenced yard beside farm buildings or a mill.
32
noun
Any enclosed place, or a home.
33
verb
To shut animals, especially sheep, inside a pen.
34
verb
To bring someone into a church or a community of believers.
35
verb
To fertilize a field by keeping sheep penned on it.
36
nounobsolete
The ground or the world, or a land or region.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of fold apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–10, 12–13, 15–19

The verb comes from Middle English 'folden', from Old English 'fealdan', going back through Proto-Germanic *falþaną ('to fold') to the Proto-Indo-European root *pel- ('to fold'). The noun is derived from the verb.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

The English verb descends from Middle English folden. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English folden descends from Old English fealdan. en.wiktionary.org
Old English fealdan descends ultimately from Proto-Germanic *falþaną. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *falþaną means 'to fold' and derives ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pel-, also meaning 'to fold'. en.wiktionary.org
The noun associated with folding derives from the verb. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 11, 14

This noun comes from Middle English 'fold', from Old English 'fald' ('fold, stall, cattle-pen'), from Proto-Germanic *faludaz ('enclosure'). It is related to Danish 'fold' ('pen for livestock') and Swedish 'fålla' ('corral, pen'). The verb is derived from the noun.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

The enclosure noun descends through Middle English 'fold' and Old English 'fald' from Proto-Germanic '*faludaz', meaning 'enclosure'. en.wiktionary.org
Old English 'fald' denotes a fold or stall for livestock. en.wiktionary.org
The noun is related to Danish 'fold' and Swedish 'fålla', with the stated livestock-enclosure meanings. en.wiktionary.org
The verb in the enclosure sense derives from the noun. en.wiktionary.org