unfold
/ʌnˈfoʊld/verb, noun
unfold is spelled U-N-F-O-L-D: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, unfold means “To undo a folding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unfold?
| Letters | 6: U-N-F-O-L-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is unfold?
Unfold appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unfold?
- US /ʌnˈfoʊld/
- UK /ʌnˈfəʊld/
Unfold has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unfold.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unfold?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as unfold from its last stressed vowel (/oʊld/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of unfold
- unfolds present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- unfolding participle, present
- unfolded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unfold mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To undo a folding.
to unfold a map; to unfold a tablecloth; She unpacks the new dress and unfolds it carefully.
- 2
To become unfolded.
The curtains unfolded to reveal the stage.
- 3
To turn out; to happen; to develop.
Events unfolded in an unexpected way.
- 4
To lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development; to reveal.
to unfold one's designs; to unfold the principles of a science
- 5
To reassemble a line of text that was split across multiple lines.
- 6
To release from a fold or pen.
to unfold sheep
noun
- 1
In functional programming, a kind of higher-order function that is the opposite of a fold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unfold in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | déplier, dérouler |
| German | entfalten, ausbreiten , sich entfalten, sich entwickeln, sich abzeichnen, sich anbahnen |
| Portuguese | desdobrar |
| Spanish | desplegar, explayar , discurrir, desenvolverse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unfold come from?
From Middle English unfolden, from Old English unfealdan (“to unfold”), equivalent to un- + fold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).