Buildering

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The sport or pastime of scaling the outside walls and surfaces of buildings using climbing techniques and natural handholds
2. A recreational activity involving ascending the exterior of structures such as skyscrapers and bridges without ropes or protective equipment
3. The practice of climbing up the outer facades of buildings as a form of urban exploration and athletic challenge

Etymology: Buildering is a blend of "building" and "bouldering", two words that together describe a particular kind of urban climbing. Bouldering is climbing short rock faces or boulders without ropes, and building is the ordinary word for a structure. Put them together and you get the sport of scaling buildings, usually for the thrill of it rather than as a formal climb. The blend works the way many playful English coinages do: the two words overlap in sound and sense, so the first part of one and the end of the other fuse into a single term that anyone familiar with climbing can decode at once. The result sounds like a sporting term in its own right, which suits a pastime that began as a rebellious spin on conventional climbing.

Synonyms: buildering