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Entry 13 senses · 6 variants Webster, 1913

Fold

/(fōld)/ · IPA /foʊld/
01 v. t. 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.
imp. & p. p. Folded; p. pr. & vb. n. Folding
  1. 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. 2.
    To double or lay together, as the arms or the hands; as, he folds his arms in despair.
  3. 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. 4.
    To cover or wrap up; to conceal.
    “Nor fold my fault in cleanly coined excuses.” — Shak.
02 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. 1.
    To become folded, plaited, or doubled; to close over another of the same kind; to double together; as, the leaves of the door fold.
03 n. A doubling,esp. of any flexible substance; a part laid over on another part; a plait; a plication.
  1. 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. 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. 3.
    That which is folded together, or which infolds or envelops; embrace.
    “Shall from your neck unloose his amorous fold.” — Shak.
Phrases & compounds
Fold net — a kind of net used in catching birds.
04 n. An inclosure for sheep; a sheep pen.
  1. 1.
    An inclosure for sheep; a sheep pen.
    “Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the fold.” — Milton.
  2. 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. 3.
    A boundary; a limit.[Obs.]
Phrases & compounds
Fold yard — an inclosure for sheep or cattle.
05 v. t. To confine in a fold, as sheep.
  1. 1.
    To confine in a fold, as sheep.
06 v. i. To confine sheep in a fold.
  1. 1.
    To confine sheep in a fold.[R.]
    “The star that bids the shepherd fold.” — Milton.