unfold

un·fold

Use unfold in a sentence

verb

Unfold is defined as to open or undo something folded, or make something known that wasn't.

An example of unfold is opening a birthday card.
An example of unfold is uncrossing your arms.
An example of unfold is a secret being revealed.

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MLA Style

"unfold." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD>.

APA Style

unfold. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD

unfold

to open and spread out (something folded)
to make known or lay open to view, esp. in stages or little by little; reveal, disclose, display, or explain

Origin of unfold

Middle English unfolden from Old English unfealdan from un-, un- + fealdan, to fold

to become unfolded; open out or open up
to develop fully

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"unfold." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD>.

APA Style

unfold. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD

unfold

verb

un·fold·ed, un·fold·ing, un·folds

verb

transitive

To open and spread out (something folded); extend.
To remove the coverings from; disclose to view: unfold a package.
To reveal gradually by written or spoken explanation; make known: “He unfolded his tale of woe: the descriptions of poverty and the great distance they had traveled, the abuses they had suffered, the injustice of it all” ( Robert Rosenberg )

verb

intransitive

a. To become spread out; open out: Spring flowers unfolded everywhere.
b. To develop or occur as a series of events or stages: “The trial unfolded in an imposing, high-ceilinged courtroom in Westminster Hall” ( Adam Hochschild )
To be revealed gradually to the understanding: A solution to the problem unfolded as they spoke.

Related Forms:

un·fold′ment
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"unfold." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD>.

APA Style

unfold. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/UNFOLD

Verb

(third-person singular simple present unfolds, present participle unfolding, simple past and past participle unfolded)

To undo a folding.
to unfold a tablecloth
(intransitive) To turn out to happen; to develop.
To reveal.
To open (anything covered or closed); to lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development.
to unfold one's designs; to unfold the principles of a science
To release from a fold or pen.
to unfold sheep