How to Use scaffolding in a Sentence

scaffolding

noun
  • Users sleep on the stairs of a nearby church and perch in scaffolding.
    — Annie Correal, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2019
  • As long as the reader stays with you, the scaffolding can shift.
    — Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Just this week, more scaffolding popped up, even more new gold trim appeared.
    — ABC News, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Use the structure as scaffolding, not a cage.
    — Big Think, 27 Oct. 2025
  • One of my friends thought maybe the scaffolding at the finish had fallen.
    — Jenna Reyes, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Apr. 2023
  • The fix is to build the question with a little more scaffolding.
    — Henna Pryor, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
  • The church for years has had scaffolding in the central nave to support work on the dome.
    — Sharon Samber, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2017
  • But the skeleton isn’t just a lifeless scaffolding for the rest of your flesh.
    — Alex Schwartz, Popular Science, 5 Feb. 2020
  • In any case, the plot is just scaffolding — a pretext for the dancing.
    — Brian Seibert, New York Times, 5 June 2018
  • Nature doesn't give us a library of skills, just the scaffolding to build one.
    — Matthew Hutson, Science | AAAS, 24 May 2018
  • Josh has a noose around his neck, which is tied to a scaffolding structure in the backyard.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Millions lined the streets, hanging from street poles and perched atop scaffolding.
    — Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 21 June 2026
  • When that scaffolding is abnormal, those bricks can't lay down well – hence the weak bones.
    — David Oliver, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
  • The first movie had a bare-bones plot, a skeleton scaffolding on which to hang set piece after set piece.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Sep. 2023
  • So the big idea with our set was to watch these people build the scaffolding from which our country will be built.
    — Devin Alessio, ELLE Decor, 11 June 2016
  • The scaffolding has remained there, marring the streetscape, for years.
    — St. John Barned-Smith, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 May 2023
  • The building is still under scaffolding, and the coming soon sign has been in place for months.
    — Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Like with scaffolding when a building is finished.
    — Literary Hub, 19 June 2026
  • The section where the cathedral’s spire appeared to be on fire had been wrapped in scaffolding.
    — Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 11 July 2024
  • The scaffolding will allow Ziegler to get to where most of them live, high in the forest canopy.
    — Christian Ziegler, National Geographic, 29 Sep. 2016
  • But all of them have to get used to working on ladders, rooftops, scaffolding, and scissors lifts.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 13 Mar. 2019
  • Yet for several hours, the scaffolding sat there with no action.
    — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 13 June 2026
  • The trick is finding joy and energy in that scaffolding.
    — Grace Perry, Outside, 1 Jan. 2026
  • The ship was surrounded by wooden scaffolding for a welding job on the bow when a fire broke out.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 27 Feb. 2018
  • The project was commissioned by Christofle, who built the scaffolding.
    — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, 24 Feb. 2015
  • Work on the outside of the dome is marked by the construction scaffolding that surrounds it.
    — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 13 Oct. 2021
  • Another angle showed the scaffolding was a few floors away from the top of the high-rise building.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Someone flipped a switch, and a set of cameras mounted on scaffolding began to creep over the rows.
    — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2021
  • The primary work for those on the scaffolding, however, is on shoring up the stone work.
    — Barry Adams, Star Tribune, 17 Aug. 2020
  • The center has said that the scaffolding and tarp are still there as part of the renovation project.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 28 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scaffolding.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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