A folder is a container that holds papers or files to keep them organized. In an office or at school, you might use manila folders to store homework assignments, permission slips, or reports so they don't get crumpled or lost in your backpack. Before computers, offices had entire rooms filled with filing cabinets holding thousands of folders, each labeled and sorted to help people find what they needed.

On a computer, a folder works the same way but for digital files. You might create a folder called “Book Reports” to store all your writing assignments, or a folder called “Vacation Photos” to organize pictures from a trip. Just like physical folders, computer folders can hold other folders inside them, creating a system of organization. You might have a main folder called “School” that contains separate folders for each subject.

Today, whether you're organizing papers in a binder or files on a tablet, folders help transform chaos into order.