scaffolding
/ˈskæfəldɪŋ/noun, verb
scaffolding is spelled S-C-A-F-F-O-L-D-I-N-G: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scaffolding means “A temporary modular system of tubes, bamboo or wood forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scaffolding is scaffoldings.
How many letters and syllables are in scaffolding?
| Letters | 11: S-C-A-F-F-O-L-D-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is scaffolding?
Scaffolding appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scaffolding?
- US /ˈskæfəldɪŋ/
- US /ˈskæˌfoʊldɪŋ/
Scaffolding has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scaffolding.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of scaffolding
- scaffoldings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scaffolding mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A temporary modular system of tubes, bamboo or wood forming a framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures.
- 2
Source code etc. that is incomplete and serves as a basis for further development.
- 3
Any framework or support.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of scaffold
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scaffolding in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense system of tubes or poles used to support people and material:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | échafaudage |
| German | Baugerüst, Gerüst |
| Portuguese | andaime |
| Spanish | andamiaje, andamio, andamiada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scaffolding come from?
Inherited from Middle English scaffaldyng, skaffaldyng, equivalent to scaffold + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).