Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A scaffold or system of scaffolds.
  • noun Materials used for constructing scaffolds.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In tobacco-growing, the hanging of the freshly cut plant upon a structure of poles or rails variously supported to wilt before housing: much practised in the heavy export and white Burley districts.
  • noun A frame or structure for temporary support in an elevated place; in building, a temporary combination of timberwork consisting of upright poles and horizontal pieces, on which are laid boards for supporting the builders when carrying up the different stages or floors of a building, or plasterers when executing their work in the interior of houses. The scaffolding is struck or removed as soon as it has answered its purpose. See cut under putlog.
  • noun Materials for scaffolds.
  • noun Figuratively, any sustaining part; a frame or framework, as the skeleton; especially, in embryology, a temporary formation of hard parts to be replaced by or modified into a permanent structure: as, the scaffolding of an embryonic skull.
  • noun In metallurgy, the formation of a scaffold; an engorgement. See scaffold, 7.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A scaffold; a supporting framework.
  • noun Materials for building scaffolds.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A temporary modular system of tubes forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a system of scaffolds

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word scaffolding.

Examples

  • Many nearby house fronts were submerged in scaffolding and could barely be seen.

    Google Street - Doing wonders for Norwich's tourist trade Norfolk Blogger 2009

  • Usually some part of college is swathed in scaffolding, or blocked off.

    Promised Pictures « Tales from the Reading Room 2009

  • Old Yankee Stadium, at left, is shrouded in scaffolding and left silent while the the new Yankee Stadium, right, is basking in the late afternoon sun on the right and helping to play host to the 2009 World Series.

    Dealing with the death of old Yankee Stadium 2009

  • Peter Gray, a psychologist at Boston College, points out that older kids are uniquely able to provide support -- often referred to as "scaffolding" -- for younger kids in mixed-age play.

    Alfie Kohn: Five Not-So-Obvious Propositions About Play Alfie Kohn 2011

  • I travelled there specifically to see this clock, only to find it draped in scaffolding!

    San Marco Clock Tower, Venice Heather McDougal 2008

  • – Encased in scaffolding and bursting from a sweater they are the very apex of temptation.

    What a Let Down Newmania 2007

  • The scaffolding is is an old B movie plot with traditional chase scenes, a secret identity and a female in peril.

    Archive 2007-12-02 Newmania 2007

  • – Encased in scaffolding and bursting from a sweater they are the very apex of temptation.

    Archive 2007-08-26 Newmania 2007

  • The scaffolding is is an old B movie plot with traditional chase scenes, a secret identity and a female in peril.

    The Creature Alone Newmania 2007

  • The scaffolding is is an old B movie plot with traditional chase scenes, a secret identity and a female in peril.

    Archive 2007-12-01 Newmania 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.