scaffold

noun

scaf·​fold ˈska-fəld 

also -ˌfōld

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

Examples of scaffold in a Sentence

The condemned man was led to the scaffold.

Recent Examples on the Web

These scaffold branches help support new growth and keep those large, heavy blooms upright. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026

By maintaining the scaffold’s structural integrity while enabling electronic-state reconstruction, the Mg4C60 framework addresses the technical barriers that previously prevented the use of fullerenes in commercial energy storage. —Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025

Aim to have one shoot about every 12 inches along a scaffold branch. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2025

Technical Rescue units met with building management, who explained that the scaffold suffered a mechanical failure, leaving the two window washers stranded roughly 15 stories above the ground, the department shared. —Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for scaffold

• baffled

Kids Definition

scaffold

noun

scaf·​fold ˈskaf-əld 

also -ˌōld

1

a

: an elevated platform built as a support for workers

b

: a platform on which a criminal is executed

2

: a supporting framework