: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
The bike could surely be quite a bit lighter without the folding capability, but Lectric has made the entire Trike2 range foldable, so that's that! — Loz Blain october 26, New Atlas, 27 Oct. 2026 Adding moving parts to a phone will lead to at least some increase in hardware issues, and Apple certainly wouldn’t be the first device maker to have problems with its first foldable launch. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026
Noun
Apple’s Alex Kirschner has also reportedly said that the defect appears on affected units very quickly, so buyers won’t have to wonder if their expensive foldables are ticking time bombs. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026 So while its display is reminiscent of the recent crop of pricey foldables, this is a budget Android phone through and through. — Andrew Liszewski, The Verge, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for foldable

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of foldable was in 1648

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foldable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foldable. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster