# unfold

Pronunciation: say "un-FOHLD" US /ʌnˈfoʊld/, UK /ʌnˈfəʊld/

## Verb

1. To open out something that has been folded flat.
   - Simple: To open something that was folded.
   - _Carefully unfold the delicate tissue paper before tracing the pattern._
   - _He unfolded the napkin and spread it across his lap._
2. To open out from a folded state.
   - Simple: To open up after being folded.
   - _The map's creases slowly unfold when the sheet is laid flat._
   - _The origami crane began to unfold as the paper relaxed._
3. To turn out or develop gradually as events progress.
   - Simple: To happen and develop over time, step by step.
   - _Negotiations continued to unfold throughout the week._
   - _The drama unfolded before a stunned audience._
4. To reveal or explain something fully, bringing out all its details through gradual, successive development.
   - Simple: To explain or show something fully, bringing out all its details bit by bit.
   - _The lawyer will unfold the entire case before the jury tomorrow._
   - _Her memoir unfolds the events of a turbulent decade with quiet precision._
5. To release sheep or other livestock from the fold or pen in which they are kept.
   - Simple: To let sheep or other farm animals out of the pen where they are kept.
6. To reassemble a line of text that was split across several lines.
   - Simple: To join lines of text back into one line.
   - _The text editor will unfold the wrapped code into a single continuous line._
   - _Developers often unfold long URLs that the mail client split across lines._

## Noun

7. In functional programming, a higher-order function that builds a data structure from a seed value: the opposite of a fold.
   - Simple: A kind of function in programming that builds up a list of values, the opposite of one that folds them down.
   - _An unfold generates an infinite stream of numbers from a single seed._
   - _The library provides an unfold that lazily produces each element on demand._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–4, 6–7** — From Middle English unfolden, from Old English unfealdan ("to unfold"), formed from "un-" plus "fold."
**Meaning 5** — From "un-" plus "fold" ("to confine into a fold or pen").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/unfold (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).