Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "scaffold" [scaf•fold]

  • A temporary platform, either supported from below or suspended from above, on which workers sit or stand when performing tasks at heights above the ground. (noun)
  • A raised wooden framework or platform. (noun)
  • A platform used in the execution of condemned prisoners, as by hanging or beheading. (noun)
  • To provide or support with a raised framework or platform. (verb-transitive)
  • To place on a raised framework or platform. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "scaffold" in a sentence
  • "I think the best way to scaffold is to assess your students, give them something a bit challenging, and then work backwards as much as you need to to eventually provide enough support that they can accomplish the task or participate in the class successfully."
  • "The technology works by placing a very fine apparatus called a scaffold, which is made of polymer fibres hundreds of times finer than a human hair, in place of a missing limb or damaged organ."
  • "Stealing robes from a funeral scaffold is simply foolish for anyone to try, given all they've heard about the Sioux."