scaffold

noun scaf·fold \ ˈska-fəld also -ˌfōld \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Definition of scaffold

1 a : a temporary or movable platform for workers (such as bricklayers, painters, or miners) to stand or sit on when working at a height above the floor or ground

b : a platform on which a criminal is executed (as by hanging or beheading)

c : a platform at a height above ground or floor level

2 : a supporting framework

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Examples of scaffold in a Sentence

The condemned man was led to the scaffold.

Recent Examples of scaffold from the Web

One man in his 50s was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, after he was hit by one of the cables from the scaffold in the incident just before 2:10 p.m., said Larry Merritt, a Fire Department spokesman.

— tony briscoe, chicagotribune.com, "Man hurt, Michigan Avenue closed just north of Millennium Park after scaffold accident," 8 May 2018
Be sure to check all of Home Depot's daily deals, including more step ladders and metal scaffolds.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Today's Best Deals: A Great Time To Update Your Home Entertainment System," 13 Apr. 2018
The metal scaffolds that workers used to apply mud paste to the minarets are too heavy and rigid to assemble around the dome, so a type of bamboo scaffolding, which was used for conservation work in the 1940s, is being considered instead.

— kai schultz, New York Times, "To Rid the Taj Mahal of Its Grime, India Prescribes a Mud Bath," 22 Jan. 2018
Out of my careful breast On May 19, Anne climbed the steps to a scaffold that had been built especially for the occasion and made a short speech to the crowd.

— anne thériault, Longreads, "Queens of Infamy: Anne Boleyn," 25 May 2018
Eduardo Rodriguez was working on top of a scaffold at the time.

— keri blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "Worker files $1 million lawsuit against Pasadena industrial plant after fiery explosion," 20 May 2018
Typical beach volleyball venues have been made of scaffold wrapped in fabric but what if, Hanway, asks, 3D-printing technology had advanced so that the exterior envelope could be printed of Venice Beach’s sand?

— alexandra lange, Curbed, "Lessons from LA’s 1984 Summer Olympics," 17 May 2018
Nicholas Mantis, a mucosal immunologist at the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center in Albany, agrees that the study shows that the antibodies are serving as a scaffold to allow the bacterium to stick better to the mucus.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "By wrapping itself in antibodies, this bacterium may become a stable, beneficial part of the gut," 3 May 2018
According to the catalog, the figure is likely related to a wartime victory ritual in which a high-ranking military captive was stripped, tied to a scaffold and shot to death with arrows.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Teotihuacan: An ancient Mexican city's remarkable art comes to life at LACMA," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scaffold.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of scaffold

Middle English, from Anglo-French scaffald, alteration of Old French eschaafauz, escafaut, alteration of chaafaut, from Vulgar Latin *catafalicum — more at catafalque

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Building Terms

batten, cistern, hearth, lath, transom, wainscot

SCAFFOLD Defined for English Language Learners

scaffold

noun

Definition of scaffold for English Language Learners

: a temporary or movable platform or structure on which a person stands or sits while working high above the floor or ground
: a platform or structure on which criminals are killed by being hanged or beheaded