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

This could, in turn, aid our understanding of the Cosmic Web, filaments of matter that acted as a cosmic scaffold helping the universe to assemble in its current form. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 June 2025

Maintain several stems to create your scaffold, cutting these back to varying lengths, from one to two feet above ground level. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 28 Feb. 2025

Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital combined these scaffolds with patients’ own cells to build replacement bladders. —ArsTechnica, 20 May 2025

Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news David Kaplan has been working with silk for decades, molding and shaping it into scaffolds, sponges, and films. —Amy Paturel, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 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