Scaffolding

//ˈskæfəldɪŋ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A temporary modular system of tubes, bamboo or wood forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. uncountable, usually

    "[…] transparent scaffoldings partially draped with often hallucinatory nets of lines, gouges, hatching and cross-hatching that somehow also depict varying degrees of flesh, features and expression."

  2. 2
    a system of scaffolds wordnet
  3. 3
    Source code etc. that is incomplete and serves as a basis for further development. uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    Any framework or support. figuratively, uncountable, usually

    "We refer to the process by which socialization agents support emotional activity within the child as emotional scaffolding."

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of scaffold form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
framerackscaffoldstagestaging

Example

More examples

"I saw Tom climbing up the scaffolding."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English scaffaldyng, skaffaldyng, equivalent to scaffold + -ing.

Etymology 2

From scaffold + -ing.

Related phrases

scaffolding tower

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.