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Amount after tax of increase (decrease) in accumulated gain (loss) from derivative instruments designated and qualifying as the effective portion of cash flow hedges and an entity's share of an equity investee's increase (decrease) in deferred hedging gain (loss).

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Debt and Receivables Securitization - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)								1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 16, 2018	Jan. 16, 2018	Sep. 26, 2014	Apr. 15, 2014	Aug. 10, 2012	Apr. 27, 2012	Apr. 13, 2010	Jun. 30, 2017	May 31, 2018	May 31, 2017	May 31, 2016	Jan. 15, 2018	Jul. 28, 2017	Oct. 15, 2014
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Remaining borrowing capacity									$ 486,755,000
Interest Rate Swap
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Interest rate swap, interest rate														2.015%
Interest rate swap, start date									Dec. 26, 2014
Line of Credit Facility, Outstanding Borrowing Percentage														60.00%
4.55% Senior Notes due April 15, 2026
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Principal amount				$ 250,000,000
Debt, maturity date									Apr. 15, 2026	Apr. 15, 2026
Debt, interest rate				4.55%					4.55%	4.55%
Price of debt instrument sold to the public as a percentage of principal amount				99.789%
Yield to maturity				4.573%
Unamortized debt discount				$ 528,000					$ 344,000	$ 388,000
Debt issuance cost				2,279,000
Unamortized portion of debt issuance costs									$ 1,488,000	$ 1,677,000
Settlement of hedge interest				$ (3,081,000)
4.30% Senior Notes due August 1, 2032
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Principal amount													$ 200,000,000
Debt, maturity date									Aug. 01, 2032	Aug. 01, 2032
Debt, interest rate									4.30%	4.30%			4.30%
Price of debt instrument sold to the public as a percentage of principal amount													99.901%
Yield to maturity													4.309%
Unamortized debt discount									$ 187,000				$ 198,000
Debt issuance cost													$ 2,116,000
Unamortized portion of debt issuance costs									$ 1,998,000
4.30% Senior Notes due August 1, 2032 \| Interest Rate Swap
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Notional Amount								$ 150,000,000
Gain (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI (Effective Portion)								$ 3,098,000
4.60% Senior Notes due August 10, 2024
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Principal amount					$ 150,000,000
Debt, maturity date					Aug. 10, 2024				Aug. 10, 2024	Aug. 10, 2024
Debt, interest rate					4.60%				4.60%	4.60%
Debt issuance cost					$ 80,000
Unamortized portion of debt issuance costs									$ 41,000	$ 48,000
Term Loan maturing May 1, 2019
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Borrowings outstanding									$ 829,000	1,713,000
Term loan credit facility, term						7 years
Debt, maturity date									May 01, 2019
Debt, interest rate						2.49%
Maximum borrowing capacity						$ 5,880,000
Debt instrument required monthly payments						$ 76,350
6.50% Unsecured Senior Notes due April 15, 2020
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Principal amount							$ 150,000,000
Debt, maturity date									Apr. 15, 2020
Debt, interest rate							6.50%
Price of debt instrument sold to the public as a percentage of principal amount							99.89%
Yield to maturity							6.515%
Unamortized debt discount							$ 165,000		$ 30,000	47,000
Debt issuance cost							1,486,000
Unamortized portion of debt issuance costs									272,000	421,000
Settlement of hedge interest							$ (1,358,000)
Securities Sold under Agreements to Repurchase
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Borrowings outstanding									$ 0
Maximum borrowing capacity		$ 50,000,000										$ 100,000,000
Debt maturity period		1 year
Maturity date		2019-01
Number of days past due trade accounts receivables are ineligible for securitization									90 days
Facility fee									$ 383,000	$ 354,000	$ 540,000
Worthington Aritas
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Term loan credit facility, term			5 years
Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Borrowings outstanding									0
Maximum borrowing capacity									500,000,000
Debt maturity period	3 years
Maturity date	2023-02
Debt issuance costs									$ 805,000
Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility \| Maximum
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Debt maturity period									1 year
Stand-by Letters of Credit
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Letter of credit amount outstanding									$ 14,493,000
Drawn amount of letter of credit outstanding									0
Letter of Credit
Debt And Receivables Securitization [Line Items]
Letter of credit amount outstanding									$ 13,245,000