fold

/fould/

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Word: Fold

Part of Speech: Verb and Noun

Definition:

As a Verb: 1. To bend something over upon itself, making it smaller or neater. For example, when you fold a piece of paper, you bring one part over another. 2. To mix ingredients by gently turning them together without stirring too hard. For instance, you might fold egg whites into a cake batter to keep it light and fluffy. 3. To close a business or stop operating, like when a store closes at the end of the day. 4. To enclose or confine something within folds, like how sheep are kept in a fold.

Usage Instructions:

• When using "fold" as a verb, you can talk about physical objects (like paper or clothes) or when mixing food.
• As a noun, you can refer to the result of folding (like a crease) or a group of sheep.

Examples:

• Verb: "Please fold the letter before putting it in the envelope."
• Noun: "He made a double fold in the napkin for the dinner table."

Advanced Usage:

• In cooking, "fold" can refer to a specific technique where you gently combine ingredients to maintain airiness, such as folding egg whites into batter.
• In geology, "fold" describes how layers of rock can bend due to pressure over time.

Word Variants:

• Folding (noun): The process of folding.
• Folded (adjective): Something that has been folded, like a folded map.

Different Meanings:

1. Geological Fold: Refers to the bending of rock layers.
2. Fold in Religion: A group of people sharing the same beliefs, often attending the same church.

Synonyms:

• Bend
• Crease
• Pleat
• Enclose
• Confinement (in the context of animals)

Idioms:

• "Fold like a house of cards": To collapse or fail easily.
• "Fold one's hands": To place one's hands together, often in a prayer position.

Phrasal Verbs:

• Fold up: To close or collapse something, like folding up a piece of furniture or a map.
• Fold in: To mix an ingredient gently into a batter or mixture.

Academic

Verb

1. become folded or folded up
   • The bed folds in a jiffy
2. confine in a fold, like sheep
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
4. incorporate a food ingredient into a mixture by repeatedly turning it over without stirring or beating
   • Fold the egg whites into the batter
5. bend or lay so that one part covers the other
   • fold up the newspaper
   • turn up your collar

Noun

1. the act of folding
   • he gave the napkins a double fold
2. a pen for sheep
3. a folded part (as in skin or muscle)
4. a group of sheep or goats
5. a geological process that causes a bend in a stratum of rock
6. a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church
7. 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

Synonyms

• fold up
• pen up
• close up
• close
• shut down
• close down
• turn up
• folding
• sheepfold
• sheep pen
• sheepcote
• plica
• flock
• congregation
• faithful
• crease
• plication
• flexure
• crimp
• bend