folder
folder
Pronunciation
folder /ˈfoʊldər/
fo- /foʊ/
-lder /ldər/
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: folder
Plural Noun: folders
Verb (base form): fold
Verb (third-person singular present): folds
Verb (present participle): folding
Verb (past tense/past participle): folded
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: A thin, usually rigid, cover or receptacle made of paper, cardboard, plastic, or other material, designed to hold loose papers or documents together for organization, protection, or transport.
Synonyms: binder, portfolio, file, case, jacket
Antonyms: (no direct antonyms; concepts like "disarray" or "unbound papers" represent the opposite state)
Definition 2: In computing, a virtual directory or container within a file system used to organize and store electronic files and other folders.
Synonyms: directory, catalog, repository, container
Antonyms: (no direct antonyms; concepts like "individual file" or "root directory" might be considered in a different context)
Verb (derived from "fold")
Definition 1: To bend something flexible over upon itself so that one part covers another. (While "folder" is a noun, its origin is the verb "fold," so understanding the verb's meaning is essential for the noun's function.)
Synonyms: crease, double, pleat, tuck
Antonyms: unfold, straighten, uncrease, flatten
Examples of Use
Books: "She rummaged through the overflowing manila folder on her desk, searching for the original contract." (Example from a fictional work, but representative of common usage in literature)
Newspapers: "The investigative journalist meticulously organized the hundreds of documents into color-coded folders, each representing a different aspect of the scandal." (Inspired by journalistic practices, May 2024)
Online Publications: "When you download the software, make sure to extract the contents into a new folder on your desktop for easy access." (TechCrunch, April 2023)
Entertainment Mediums (Film): In many crime dramas, a detective might be seen carrying a worn, brown folder filled with case files. (Common cinematic trope)
Entertainment Platforms (Video Games): "Players often create custom folders within the game's directory to organize their mods and saved games." (PC Gamer, January 2024)
General Public Discourse: "Could you please hand me that blue folder on the top shelf? It has all the meeting notes from last week." (Everyday office conversation, July 2025)
General Public Discourse (Digital Context): "I accidentally deleted the entire folder containing my vacation photos!" (Common lament among computer users, October 2023)
10 Quotes Using Folder
"I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that color that day." (Rita Dove)
"No one likes to see a government folder with his name on it." (Stephen King, Firestarter, 2016)
"I have a folder in my office with about 400 ideas in it. So it will take me another 40 years to get through those." (James Patterson, Interview with Christian DuChateau, March 23, 2012)
"In the days when we had paper charts, typically the paper chart would be in the door outside of the patient's room. Well now when you walk up to the door there's nothing there. Except maybe a folder with their name on it so you know who's in the room." (William Davis)
"Go for a walk; cultivate hunches; write everything down, but keep your folders messy; embrace serendipity; make generative mistakes; take on multiple hobbies; frequent coffeehouses and other liquid networks; follow the links; let others build on your ideas; borrow, recycle; reinvent." (1Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From, 2010)
"I'm always writing ideas down and then I stick em in my pocket and put em in that folder so I don't lose them." (Lucinda Williams)
"I have a medical history folder that's a lot thicker than most." (Cole Hamels)
"Kat picked up a folder labeled Senior. 'What are these? Bank records?'" (Ally Carter)
"When I'm online and I see a picture I want to draw of anybody or anything, a unique angle of them or just something that looks very drawable, I slide it to my desktop and put it in a folder." (Barry Blitt, Interview with Kanyakrit Vongkiatkajorn, April 2, 2017)
"I'm superstitious about the paper that I use, for example. I've written all my novels on a paper of a particular size with lines of a particular distance apart and with two holes in the paper for the folder clip." (Philip Pullman, Interview with Michael Mechanic, November/December 2012)
Etymology
The word "folder" comes from the verb "to fold" and the suffix "-er," which is used to indicate a person or thing that performs an action.
The first known use of "folder" dates back to 1552. At that time, its primary meaning was simply "one who folds," referring to a person whose job or activity involved folding things, like laundry or papers.
It wasn't until much later, around 1903, that "folder" gained the meaning we commonly associate with it today: "a folding cover for loose papers." Before this, similar items might have been called "fold-up documents" or used for things like railway timetables or maps that could be folded.
So, while the idea of putting papers into a protective, folded cover has been around in some form for a long time, the specific word "folder" to describe that object is a more recent development, building directly on the older meaning of something that performs the action of folding. The computing sense of a "folder" (a virtual directory) is even more modern, emerging in the 1980s as a metaphorical extension of the physical object.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Folder
In a client folder: Referring to documents or information pertaining to a specific client.
Create a new folder: To establish a new directory or container for files, either physical or digital.
Organize your folders: To arrange files or documents logically within their respective containers.
Keep a tight folder: To maintain strict control and organization over a set of documents or information.
Empty the recycling folder: To permanently delete digital files that have been temporarily stored after deletion.
A paper folder case: A general term for a dispute or legal matter documented with physical papers.
Beyond the folder's edge: Something that goes beyond the immediate scope of documented information. (Original phrase)
The file is open: Indicating an ongoing investigation or active case. (Using a synonym)
To get one's files in order: To organize one's affairs or documents. (Using a synonym)
Close the book on the folder: To conclude a matter or case that has been documented. (Original phrase, using "book" as a synonym for a comprehensive record)
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of folder from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
