to bring into a compact form by bending and laying parts together (often fol. by up): to fold up a map; to fold one's legs under oneself.
3.
to bring (the arms, hands, etc.) together in an intertwined or crossed manner; clasp; cross: He folded his arms on his chest.
4.
to bend or wind (usually fol. by about, round, etc.): to fold one's arms about a person's neck.
5.
to bring (the wings) close to the body, as a bird on alighting.
6.
to enclose; wrap; envelop: to fold something in paper.
7.
to embrace or clasp; enfold: to fold someone in one's arms.
8.
Cards. to place (one's cards) facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
9.
Informal. to bring to an end; close up: The owner decided to fold the business and retire.
–verb (used without object)
10.
to be folded or be capable of folding: The doors fold back.
11.
Cards. to place one's cards facedown so as to withdraw from the play.
12.
Informal. to fail in business; be forced to close: The newspaper folded after 76 years.
13.
Informal. to yield or give in: Dad folded and said we could go after all.
–noun
14.
a part that is folded; pleat; layer: folds of cloth.
15.
a crease made by folding: He cut the paper along the fold.
16.
a hollow made by folding: to carry something in the fold of one's dress.
17.
a hollow place in undulating ground: a fold of the mountains.
18.
Geology. a portion of strata that is folded or bent, as an anticline or syncline, or that connects two horizontal or parallel portions of strata of different levels (as a monocline).
19.
Journalism.
a.
the line formed along the horizontal center of a standard-sized newspaper when it is folded after printing.
b.
a rough-and-ready dividing line, esp. on the front page and other principal pages, between stories of primary and lesser importance.
20.
a coil of a serpent, string, etc.
21.
the act of folding or doubling over.
22.
Anatomy. a margin or ridge formed by the folding of a membrane or other flat body part; plica.
—Verb phrases
23.
fold in, Cookery. to mix in or add (an ingredient) by gently turning one part over another: Fold in the egg whites.
24.
fold up, Informal.
a.
to break down; collapse: He folded up when the prosecutor discredited his story.
b.
to fail, esp. to go out of business.
[Origin: bef. 900; (v.) ME folden, falden, OE faldan; c. G. falten; (v.) ME fald, deriv. of the n.; akin to L plicāre to fold, plectere to plait, twine, Gk plékein;cf. -fold]
A fenced enclosure for domestic animals, especially sheep.
A flock of sheep.
A group of people or institutions bound together by common beliefs and aims: "He is a living testament to the wisdom of admitting lay psychoanalysts into the official fold"(Jerome Bruner).
A religious congregation: The priest welcomed new parishioners into the fold.
tr.v.
fold·ed, fold·ing, folds
To place or keep (sheep, for example) in a fenced enclosure.
O.E. faldan (Mercian), fealdan (W.Saxon), "to bend cloth back over itself," class VII strong verb (past tense feold, pp. fealden), from P.Gmc. *falthanan (cf. O.N. falda, M.L.G. volden, Ger. falten, Goth. falþan), from PIE *pel-to- (cf. Skt. putah "fold, pocket," Alb. pale "fold," M.Ir. alt "a joint"), from base *pel- "to fold." The weak form developed from 15c. Sense of "to yield to pressure" is from 1398. The noun meaning "a bend or ply in anything" is c.1250, from the verb. Folder "folding cover for loose papers," is first recorded 1911.
"pen or enclosure for sheep or other domestic animals," O.E. falæd, falud, a Gmc. word (cf. E.Fris. folt "enclosure, dunghill," Dan. fold "pen for sheep"), of uncertain origin.
an angular or rounded shape made by folding; "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.
a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church [syn: congregation]
3.
a geological process that causes a bend in a stratum of rock
the act of folding; "he gave the napkins a double fold"
verb
1.
bend or lay so that one part covers the other; "fold up the newspaper"; "turn up your collar" [ant: open]
2.
incorporate a food ingredient into a mixture by repeatedly turning it over without stirring or beating; "Fold the egg whites into the batter"
3.
cease to operate or cause to cease operating; "The owners decided to move and to close the factory"; "My business closes every night at 8 P.M."; "close up the shop" [syn: close up] [ant: open]
A bend in a layer of rock or in another planar feature such as foliation or the cleavage of a mineral. Folds occur as the result of deformation, usually associated with plate-tectonic forces.
Fal"dis*to*ry\, n. [LL. faldistorium, faldestorium, from OHG. faldstuol; faldan, faltan, to fold (G. falten) + stuol stool. So called because it could be folded or laid together. See Fold, and Stool, and cf. Faldstool, Fauteuil.] The throne or seat of a bishop within the chancel. [Obs.]
Fold\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Folded; p. pr. & vb. n. Folding.] [OE. folden, falden, AS. fealdan; akin to OHG. faltan, faldan, G. falten, Icel. falda, Dan. folde, Sw. f[*a]lla, Goth. fal?an, cf. Gr.? twofold, Skr. pu?a a fold. Cf. Fauteuil.]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\, v. i. 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\, n. [From Fold, v. In sense 2 AS. -feald, akin to fealdan to fold.]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 net, a kind of net used in catching birds.
Fold\, n. [From Fold, v. In sense 2 AS. -feald, akin to fealdan to fold.]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 net, a kind of net used in catching birds.
Fold\, n. [OE. fald, fold, AS. fald, falod.]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 yard, an inclosure for sheep or cattle.
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