I. fold 1 W3 /fəʊld $ foʊld/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ fold , ↑ unfold ; noun : ↑ fold , ↑ folder ; adjective : folded, ↑ folding ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: fealdan ]
1 . BEND [transitive] to bend a piece of paper, cloth etc by laying or pressing one part over another:
Fold the paper along the dotted line.
It’ll fit in if you fold it in half.
fold something over/under/down etc
Spoon the filling onto the dough, fold it over, and press down the edges.
2 . SMALLER/NEATER [transitive] ( also fold up ) to fold something several times so that it makes a small neat shape ⇨ unfold :
I wish you kids would fold up your clothes!
He folded the map neatly.
3 . FURNITURE ETC [intransitive and transitive] if something such as a piece of furniture folds, or you fold it, you make it smaller or move it to a different position by bending it:
The chairs fold flat for storage.
fold (something) away/up/down etc
a useful little bed that folds away when you don’t need it
Can you fold the shutters back?
⇨ ↑ folding
4 . fold your arms to bend your arms so that they rest together against your body:
George stood silently with his arms folded.
5 . BUSINESS [intransitive] ( also fold up ) if an organization folds, it closes because it does not have enough money to continue
6 . COVER [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to cover something, especially by wrapping it in material or putting your hand over it
fold something in something
a silver dagger folded in a piece of white cloth
7 . fold somebody in your arms literary to hold someone closely by putting your arms around them
fold something ↔ in ( also fold something into something ) phrasal verb
to gently mix another substance into a mixture when you are preparing food:
Next, fold in the sugar.
II. fold 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ fold , ↑ unfold ; noun : ↑ fold , ↑ folder ; adjective : folded, ↑ folding ]
[ Sense 1,2,5: Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ fold 1 ]
[ Sense 3,4: Language: Old English ; Origin: falod ]
1 . LINE a line made in paper or material when you fold one part of it over another:
Bend back the card and cut along the fold.
2 . SKIN/MATERIAL [usually plural] the folds in material, skin etc are the loose parts that hang over other parts of it:
Her dress hung in soft folds.
3 . the fold the group of people that you belong to and share the same beliefs and ideas as
return to/come back into the fold
The Church will welcome him back into the fold.
stray from/leave the fold
a former advocate of free market economics who had strayed from the fold
4 . SHEEP a small area of a field surrounded by a wall or fence where sheep are kept for safety SYN pen ⇨ corral
5 . ROCK technical a bend in layers of rock, caused by underground movements in the earth