scaffold

American  

[skaf-uhld, -ohld] / ˈskæf əld, -oʊld /

noun

1. a temporary structure for holding workers and materials during the construction, repair, or decoration of a building.

2. an elevated platform on which a criminal is executed, usually by hanging.

3. a raised platform or stage for shows or performances, the seating of spectators, etc.

4. any raised framework or system of such frameworks.

5. a suspended platform used by painters, window washers, and others for working on a tall structure, such as a skyscraper.

6. Cell Biology, Genetics. any of various extracellular framelike components found naturally in genomic material and synthesized for tissue engineering.

7. Metallurgy. any piling or fusion of materials in a blast furnace, obstructing the flow of gases and preventing the uniform descent of the charge.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish (a building or other structure) with a system of temporary platforms for supporting workers and materials during construction, repairs, cleaning, etc..

   Our team will scaffold the building in order to provide access for restorative work and maintenance.

2. to be the support or foundation for.

   All knowledge is scaffolded by its physical and social contexts.

3. Education.

   1. to aid (learners or their learning) using a method in which support in the application of a new skill is gradually reduced until the individual learner can demonstrate it independently, after which the mastered skill becomes the basis for acquiring the next new skill in a similar way.

      Showing students how to do something can be an effective first step in scaffolding learning.

      The program scaffolds middle-school learners through the scientific inquiry process.

   2. to design (learning materials, curriculum, etc.) to suit this method of instruction.

      This paper explains the model used to scaffold lessons for English language learners.

scaffold British  

/ ˈskæfəld, -fəʊld /

noun

1. a temporary metal or wooden framework that is used to support workmen and materials during the erection, repair, etc, of a building or other construction

2. a raised wooden platform on which plays are performed, tobacco, etc, is dried, or (esp formerly) criminals are executed

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verb

1. to provide with a scaffold

2. to support by means of a scaffold

Other Word Forms

• scaffolder noun
• unscaffolded adjective

Etymology

Origin of scaffold

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English scaffalde, scaffot, skaffaut, from Old French escadafaut; akin to catafalque

Example Sentences

When a nerve is cut it sprouts a basic scaffold that it tries to regenerate along, but which only last about 10 days.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

He said the type of silk the golden orb-web spiders produce to dangle - the "drag-line silk" was similar to the body's "scaffold".

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

Sir Thomas More on the scaffold of Tower Hill comforted his executioner and was reported by a witness to have repositioned his beard on the block, joking it had committed no treason.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

They placed the receptor into a nanodisc, a tiny disc-shaped section of membrane held in solution by a scaffold protein wrapped around its edge.

From Science Daily • Dec. 18, 2025

Within a year, Dad designed a scaffold that made him the fastest bricklayer on the job.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

• scaffolding
• stage