scaffolding

noun

scaf·​fold·​ing ˈska-fəl-diŋ 

-ˌfōl-

1

: a system of scaffolds

… photographers were allowed, three at a time, to ascend the elaborate scaffolding …

—Eric Scigliano

also : material for scaffolds

2

: a support system or structure likened to a system of scaffolds

… in his readings and talks with authors, he is seeking theoretical scaffolding for his actions …

—John F. Dickerson

especially, education : a system or framework of support provided by an instructor to help a student reach the next level of learning

By identifying the next skills just above the child's current skill level, then providing scaffolding (or assistance) in a way that helps the child display the identified skills accurately, and then fading out the need for scaffolding, you can help a child to learn new things and become more independent.

—Heather Gilmore

Teachers should look for tools that help them easily adjust instructional scaffolding from assignment to assignment and from student to student—allowing them to meet students where they are as they learn to write for authentic audiences.

—Troy Hicks

Examples of scaffolding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An exposition-heavy opening third, prone to repetition, offers a wobbly scaffolding on which Cruise and McQuarrie hang some truly spectacular set pieces. —Thomas Page, CNN Money, 15 May 2025

If language is the connective tissue between thought and reality, and if that tissue is replaced with statistical scaffolding, thinking becomes outsourced. —Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

The two men appeared to have dashed out from under long-standing scaffolding that neighbors said often served as a cover for illicit activities, making the area unsafe. —Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 11 May 2025

The Rehearsal, in the Fielder way, is already building out into unexpected places, like the scaffolding in Synecdoche, New York. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

scaffolding

noun

scaf·​fold·​ing ˈskaf-əl-diŋ 

-ˌōl-

1

: a system of scaffolds

2

: materials for scaffolds