Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A fenced enclosure for livestock, especially sheep.
- noun A flock of sheep.
- noun A group of people or institutions bound together by common beliefs and aims.
- noun A religious congregation.
- transitive verb To place or keep (sheep, for example) in a fenced enclosure.
- intransitive verb To bend over or double up so that one part lies on another part.
- intransitive verb To make compact by doubling or bending over parts.
- intransitive verb To bring from an extended to a closed position.
- intransitive verb To bring from a compact to an extended position; unfold.
- intransitive verb To place together and intertwine.
- intransitive verb To envelop or clasp; enfold.
- intransitive verb To blend (a light ingredient) into a heavier mixture with a series of gentle turns.
- intransitive verb Informal To discontinue operating; close.
- intransitive verb Games To withdraw (one's hand) in defeat, as by laying cards face down on a table.
- intransitive verb Geology To form bends in (a stratum of rock).
- intransitive verb To become folded.
- intransitive verb To be capable of being folded.
- intransitive verb Informal To close, especially for lack of financial success; fail.
- intransitive verb Games To withdraw from a game in defeat.
- intransitive verb To give in; buckle.
- intransitive verb To weaken or collapse from exertion.
- noun The act or an instance of folding.
- noun A part that has been folded over or against another.
- noun A line or mark made by folding; a crease.
- noun A coil or bend, as of rope.
- noun Chiefly British A hill or dale in undulating country.
- noun Geology A bend in a stratum of rock.
- noun Anatomy A crease or ridge apparently formed by folding, as of a membrane; a plica.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To double over upon itself; lay or bring one part of over or toward another by bending; bend over: used of things thin and flexible, or relatively so, as a piece of cloth, a sheet of paper, a stratum of rock, etc.: often with up.
- To bring together or place over each other, as two correlated parts: as, to
fold together the ends of a piece of cloth; to fold one's arms or one's hands. - To inclose in a fold or in folds; wrap up; cover up or hide away.
- To inclose in or as in the arms; embrace.
- To throw down; overthrow; cause to yield.
- To become doubled upon itself; become bent so that one part lies over upon another.
- To infold; embrace.
- To yield; give way; fail.
- noun A place of protection or inclosure for domestic animals, usually for sheep.
- noun Hence A flock of sheep.
- noun A limit; a boundary.
- noun A farm-yard.
- noun The inclosure of a farm-house.
- noun A double or bend in a more or less flexible substance, as cloth; a flexure, especially one so extensive as to bring the parts on either side of the line of bending near together.
- noun The parts which are brought together by bending or folding, or one of them; specifically, a plait in a garment or in drapery: as, a broad fold of cloth.
- noun In entomology, a plica or ridge, generally inclined to one side, appearing as if the surface had been folded.
- noun plural Involved parts of a complex whole; windings: a complex arrangement or constitution; intricacy.
- noun A clasp; an embrace.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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You cannot see the softest and youngest row, or layer, of the nail cells at the base, because a fold of skin, the _nail fold_, has been doubled, or folded, over them to protect them while they are young and soft.
A Handbook of Health Woods Hutchinson 1896
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(Below the fold is the SSRN abstract for my testimony.)
The Volokh Conspiracy » Drone Warfare Subcommittee Testimony, Up at SSRN 2010
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Lay out a heavy paper grocery sack and cut across just where the fold is at the bottom, like this.
Archive 2009-05-01 2009
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After the fold is the relevant text of the original Executive Order: note that it is dated January 22, 2009.
The impossible Gitmo deadline: 24 hours? - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState 2009
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One backslider returned to the fold is a greater victory than a thousand heathen.
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Lay out a heavy paper grocery sack and cut across just where the fold is at the bottom, like this.
Paper Bag Cover 2009
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And beneath the fold is the hairy-grown-up version.
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After the fold is the eulogy, the performance piece, and more photos.
WILLIAM DAVID BARNETT 10 NOVEMBER 1958 - 19 JUNE 2001 Maggie Jochild 2007
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And after the fold is a sequence of thematically related autobiographical poems, including my favorite I've ever written (the last).
THE BRAIN OF A POET Maggie Jochild 2007
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One backslider returned to the fold is a greater victory than a thousand heathen.
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This phenomenon, often referred to as the “fentanyl fold,” occurs because the drug’s potent effects on the central nervous system cause intense muscle relaxation and loss of motor control. Users lose the ability to maintain proper posture, resulting in the characteristic bending over.
Why Do Fentanyl Users Bend Over | Addiction & Overdose Preston Powell 2025
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Examples of the “fentanyl fold” have been plastered on social media for years as San Francisco continues to try to get a grip on a highly visible opioid epidemic that claimed the lives of more than 800 people last year.
Here’s why fentanyl users on S.F.’s streets are bent over 2025
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Is there a good explanation for why recreational opioid users will sometimes display a "fentanyl fold" where they adopt a heavily bent over posture but are able to remain otherwise standing and balanced?
Opioid "fold" or "lean" physiology? _qua 2025
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