scaffold
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A platform from which criminals are executed.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
skafuhldSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈskæfəld
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A platform from which criminals are executed (hanged or beheaded)
An elevated platform on which a criminal is executed.
A structure made of scaffolding for workers to stand on while working on a building.
An elevated platform on which dead bodies are ritually disposed of, as by some Native American tribes.
verb
transitive
To dispose of the bodies of the dead on a scaffold or raised platform, as by some Native American tribes.
transitive
To sustain; to provide support for.
transitive
To set up a scaffolding; to surround a building with scaffolding.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A structure made of scaffolding for workers to stand on while working on a building.
Used this way, scaffold is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use scaffold
- “Scaffold the building before painting it.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A system of scaffolds.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.