foldable

1 of 2

adjective

fold·​able ˈfōl-də-bəl 

: capable of being folded (as for storage) : folding

a foldable chair

… as he wanders the country and the globe with just the clothes on his back, his expired passport, a debit card and a foldable toothbrush.

—David Hendricks

foldable

2 of 2

noun

plural foldables

: something that can be folded

Vertical rows of shelves hold all the foldables like sweaters and polo shirts.

—House Beautiful

especially : a device (such as a tablet computer or smartphone) that can be folded for storage

Foldables are increasingly becoming a normal part of the tech community. Just look at the handful of foldable smartphones around, so don't expect this trend to fizzle out anytime soon.

—Spy

Examples of foldable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

To fold away: If space is at a premium, the Home Fitness Award-winning ProForm Carbon TLX is a compact, foldable tread that our tester says is exceptionally stable and easy to use. —Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 22 Jan. 2025

The promotion mimics December’s deal with the biggest saving reserved for Google’s foldable phone. —Janhoi McGregor, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025

Noun

In short: this is to make sure apps open full-screen on larger devices like tablets and foldables, and can be resized freely for multi-tasking. —Dominic Preston, The Verge, 23 Jan. 2025

That has benefitted smartphone designs across the board, not just in the foldables. —Ewan Spence, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

fold entry 1 + -able

Noun

derivative of foldable entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1648, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1904, in the meaning defined above