Fold Definition

fōld
folded, folding, folds
verb
folded, folding, folds
To place or keep (sheep, for example) in a fenced enclosure.
American Heritage
To bend or press (something) so that one part is over another; double up on itself.
To fold a sheet.
Webster's New World
To fail.
Webster's New World
To make more compact by so doubling a number of times.
Webster's New World
To bring from an extended to a closed position.
The hawk folded its wings.
American Heritage
noun
folds
The act or an instance of folding.
American Heritage
A folded part or layer.
Webster's New World
A mark made by folding.
Webster's New World
A coil or bend, as of rope.
American Heritage
A hollow; small valley.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
suffix
Multiplied by a specified number.
A twofold increase in sales.
American Heritage
Divided by a specified number.
A fivefold reduction in air pollution.
American Heritage
Having a specified number of parts.
A threefold plan for fighting poverty.
American Heritage
Multiplied by a specified number.
A twofold increase in sales.
American Heritage
Divided by a specified number.
A fivefold reduction in air pollution.
American Heritage
affix
Having (a specified number of) parts.
A tenfold division.
Webster's New World
(a specified number of) Times as many, as much, as large.
To profit tenfold.
Webster's New World
idiom
fold in
  • to blend (an ingredient) into a mixture, using gentle, cutting strokes
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Fold

Noun

Singular:
fold
Plural:
folds

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Fold

  • fold in

Origin of Fold

  • From Middle English fold, fald, from Old English fald, falæd, falod (“fold, stall, stable, cattle-pen”), from Proto-Germanic *faludaz (“enclosure”). Akin to Scots fald, fauld (“an enclosure for livestock”), Dutch vaalt (“dung heap”), Middle Low German valt, vālt (“an inclosed space, a yard”), Danish fold (“pen for herbivorous livestock”), Swedish fålla (“corral, pen, pound”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English, from Old English -feald (“-fold"), from Proto-Germanic *-falþaz (“-fold"), from Proto-Indo-European *-poltos (“-fold"). Cognate with Dutch -voud, German -falt, Swedish -faldig (“-fold"), Latin -plus, -plex, Ancient Greek -παλτος (-paltos), -πλος (-paltos, -plos). More at fold.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English, from Old English folde (“earth, land, country, district, region, territory, ground, soil, clay”), from Proto-Germanic *fuldǭ (“ground, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“field, plain”). Cognate with Norwegian and Icelandic fold (“land, earth, meadow”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English folden from Old English fealdan, faldan pel-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English -feald, -fald pel-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English -feald, -fald pel-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • ME -fold, -fald < OE -feald: see fold

    From Webster's New World College Dictionary, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English fald

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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