scaffolding

/ˈskæfoʊldɪŋ/

/ˈskæfəʊldɪŋ/

Other forms: scaffoldings

The platforms and supports workers stand on while they're repairing the outside of a building is called scaffolding. Without scaffolding, it would be nearly impossible to reach the highest part of a tall structure.

If you've visited a large city (or even a small one), you've definitely seen scaffolding, which sometimes surrounds an entire building. You may have even walked underneath these temporary structures, which are erected to make repairs or construct brand new buildings. Scaffolding is composed of horizontal platforms and sturdy vertical supports, and it's also used to support stagehands as they work in the theater, at outdoor concert venues, and on film sets.

Definitions of scaffolding

1. noun

   a temporary framework used in construction to support workers and materials
   synonyms: staging

   type of:

   system

   instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity
2. noun

   anything that forms a support or basis for something else
3. noun

   a teaching method in which learners are helped in applying new skills until they can do it themselves