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

Other hardware details include a foldable kickstand and a standard 1/4-inch-20 tripod mounting thread. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Nov. 2026

Motorola is patching a hole in its US lineup with a non-folding flagship phone, but the pricing puts this device dangerously close to the company’s expensive tablet-style foldable. — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 5 Nov. 2026

Noun

And while both of these foldables take excellent photos, there's a catch. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026

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

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