fold Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an angular or rounded shape made by folding
    plication; crease; bend; flexure; crimp.
    • a fold in the napkin
    • a crease in his trousers
    • a plication on her blouse
    • a flexure of the colon
    • a bend of his elbow
  2. noun a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church
    congregation; faithful.
  3. noun a geological process that causes a bend in a stratum of rock
    folding.
  4. noun a group of sheep or goats
    flock.
  5. noun a folded part (as in skin or muscle)
    plica.
  6. noun a pen for sheep
    sheep pen; sheepcote; sheepfold.
  7. noun the act of folding
    folding.
    • he gave the napkins a double fold
  8. verb bend or lay so that one part covers the other
    fold up; turn up.
    • fold up the newspaper
    • turn up your collar
  9. verb incorporate a food ingredient into a mixture by repeatedly turning it over without stirring or beating
    • Fold the egg whites into the batter
  10. verb cease to operate or cause to cease operating
    shut down; close; close up; close down.
    • The owners decided to move and to close the factory
    • My business closes every night at 8 P.M.
    • close up the shop
  11. verb confine in a fold, like sheep
    pen up.
  12. verb become folded or folded up
    fold up.
    • The bed folds in a jiffy

WordNet

Fold transitive verb
Etymology
OE. folden, falden, AS. fealdan; akin to OHG. faltan, faldan, G. falten, Icel. falda, Dan. folde, Sw. fålla, Goth. falan, cf. Gr. twofold, Skr. pua a fold. Cf. Fauteuil.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Folded; present participle & verbal noun Folding
Definitions
  1. To lap or lay in plaits or folds; to lay one part over another part of; to double; as, to fold cloth; to fold a letter.
    As a vesture shalt thou fold them up. Heb. i. 12.
  2. To double or lay together, as the arms or the hands; as, he folds his arms in despair.
  3. To inclose within folds or plaitings; to envelop; to infold; to clasp; to embrace.
    A face folded in sorrow. J. Webster.
    We will descend and fold him in our arms. Shak.
  4. To cover or wrap up; to conceal.
    Nor fold my fault in cleanly coined excuses. Shak.
Fold intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become folded, plaited, or doubled; to close over another of the same kind; to double together; as, the leaves of the door fold. 1 Kings vi. 34.
Fold noun
Etymology
From Fold, v. In sense 2 AS. -feald, akin to fealdan to fold.
Definitions
  1. A doubling,esp. of any flexible substance; a part laid over on another part; a plait; a plication.
    Mummies . . . shrouded in a number of folds of linen. Bacon.
    Folds are most common in the rocks of mountainous regions. J. D. Dana.
  2. Times or repetitions; -- used with numerals, chiefly in composition, to denote multiplication or increase in a geometrical ratio, the doubling, tripling, etc., of anything; as, fourfold, four times, increased in a quadruple ratio, multiplied by four.
  3. That which is folded together, or which infolds or envelops; embrace.
    Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold. Shak.
Fold noun
Etymology
OE. fald, fold, AS. fald, falod.
Definitions
  1. An inclosure for sheep; a sheep pen.
    Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the fold. Milton.
  2. A flock of sheep; figuratively, the Church or a church; as, Christ's fold.
    There shall be one fold and one shepherd. John x. 16.
    The very whitest lamb in all my fold. Tennyson.
  3. A boundary; a limit. Obs.
    Creech.
Fold transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To confine in a fold, as sheep.
Fold intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To confine sheep in a fold. R.
    The star that bids the shepherd fold. Milton.

Webster 1913