# unfold

> English word · Verb · IPA /ʌnˈfoʊld/ · frequency rank #16,155

## Definitions
1. To undo a folding.
2. To become unfolded.
3. To turn out; to happen; to develop.
4. To lay open to view or contemplation; to bring out in all the details, or by successive development; to reveal.
5. To reassemble a line of text that was split across multiple lines.

## Etymology
From Middle English unfolden, from Old English unfealdan (“to unfold”), equivalent to un- + fold.

## Easily confused with
- **uphold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-uphold)
- **untold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-untold)
- **unload** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-unload)
- **unholy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-unholy)
- **unsold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-unsold)
- **unfolded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unfold-vs-unfolded)

## Common misspellings (9)
`nufold`, `ufnold`, `unffold`, `unflod`, `unfodl`, `unfoldd`, `unfolld`, `unnfold`, `unofld`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/unfold