scaffolding

American  

[skaf-uhl-ding, -ohl-] / ˈskæf əl dɪŋ, -oʊl- /

noun

1. 1. a system of temporary structures having platforms to support workers and materials during the construction, repair, or decoration of a building.

      The scaffolding on the cathedral is finally coming down, and the workers can move on.

   2. materials for building such structures.

      We sell aluminum scaffolding to clients all over the country.

   3. the act or process of building such structures.

      During the scaffolding of the building complex, a specially designed lift carried all the pieces to their places.

2. Education.

   1. a method of instruction in which the learner is provided with gradually reduced support in the application of a new skill until they can demonstrate it independently: the mastered skill then provides the basis for acquiring the next new skill in a similar way.

      Through careful scaffolding, my students learned to persevere and use a range of strategies to solve math problems.

   2. the preparation or design of learning materials for use with this method.

      This grading approach requires the careful and strategic scaffolding of lesson plans and assignments.

3. anything that forms a support or basis for something else.

   The general framework of subtasks provides a scaffolding for the more complex computational tasks.

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adjective

1. relating to or involving raised platforms or their construction.

   A variety of different scaffolding materials are available for your building project.

   The fair is aimed at reps from companies that regularly hire scaffolding contractors.

2. Education. relating to, involving, or intended for a method of teaching skills by giving the learner gradually reduced support in applying a new skill until they can demonstrate it independently, after which it becomes the basis for learning the next skill.

   Some scaffolding exercises were given to students to strengthen their understanding.

scaffolding British  

/ ˈskæfəldɪŋ /

noun

1. a scaffold or system of scaffolds

2. the building materials used to make scaffolds

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Etymology

Origin of scaffolding

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English skaf(f)aldyng; equivalent to scaffold + -ing ¹

Explanation

The platforms and supports workers stand on while they're repairing the outside of a building is called scaffolding. Without scaffolding, it would be nearly impossible to reach the highest part of a tall structure. If you've visited a large city (or even a small one), you've definitely seen scaffolding, which sometimes surrounds an entire building. You may have even walked underneath these temporary structures, which are erected to make repairs or construct brand new buildings. Scaffolding is composed of horizontal platforms and sturdy vertical supports, and it's also used to support stagehands as they work in the theater, at outdoor concert venues, and on film sets.

Example Sentences

At a time when few museums had contemporary art departments — “you couldn’t write a dissertation on a living artist,” Schaffner notes — Harris Norton funded the scaffolding that would sustain the artists she collected.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Beijing spent years building the scaffolding for a petroyuan system at enormous diplomatic and financial cost.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

If the meat is the body, the breadcrumbs are the scaffolding.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

A swarm of tourists craned their necks to see the instalment of the cross's upper arm, visible amid the scaffolding and workers who put finishing touches from their harnesses.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

In the distance, I could hear the sound of rending metal as several trailer stacks began to collapse, ripping free of their scaffolding and crashing against one another like massive dominoes.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• scaffold
• stage