scatter

1 of 2

verb

scat·​ter ˈska-tər How to pronounce scatter (audio)
scattered; scattering; scatters

transitive verb

1
a
: to cause to separate widely
b
: to cause to vanish
2
archaic : to fling away heedlessly : squander
3
: to distribute irregularly
4
: to sow by casting in all directions : strew
5
a
: to reflect irregularly and diffusely
b
: to cause (a beam of radiation) to diffuse or disperse
6
: to divide into ineffectual small portions

intransitive verb

1
: to separate and go in various directions : disperse
2
: to occur or fall irregularly or at random
scatterer noun

scatter

2 of 2

noun

1
: the act of scattering
2
: a small quantity or number irregularly distributed or strewn about : scattering
3
: the state or extent of being scattered
especially : dispersion
Choose the Right Synonym for scatter

scatter, disperse, dissipate, dispel mean to cause to separate or break up.

scatter implies a force that drives parts or units irregularly in many directions.

the bowling ball scattered the pins

disperse implies a wider separation and a complete breaking up of a mass or group.

police dispersed the crowd

dissipate stresses complete disintegration or dissolution and final disappearance.

the fog was dissipated by the morning sun

dispel stresses a driving away or getting rid of as if by scattering.

an authoritative statement that dispelled all doubt

Examples of scatter in a Sentence

Verb The wind scattered the pile of leaves. The marbles scattered across the floor. She scattered the books on the table. He scatters his toys all around the house. Noun played before only a scatter of spectators in that huge stadium
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But the impractical value is likely larger; to be in the presence of a giant is for some reason calming—the air felt tranquil here, the sunlight scattered, the wind stilled. Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2023 On Zoom calls with Wang and Daniel Guillemette, a senior producer for Serial, the two musicians had woodwinds, horns, keyboards and whatnot scattered about, visible in their background. Ken Armstrong, ProPublica, 22 Nov. 2023 And again, Ghada and her family are now in Rafah and Khan Yunis, scattered across multiple houses. Mark Sappenfield, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2023 When the supercontinent broke apart, and India drifted northeast to its current position, the Seychelles were scattered behind like breadcrumbs. Frank Hulley-Jones, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 And without such policies, this new target seemed like a cruel promise to those for whom the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius is their livelihoods—mostly the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) scattered across the world’s oceans. WIRED, 15 Nov. 2023 Withlacoochee Bay is scattered with similar small, uninhabited islands. Richard Lardner, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2023 Jackals and vultures followed, then the hyenas, who would eventually scatter the bones. Honor Moore, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023 Spoon the apple mixture into the chilled piecrust, mounding it in the center and scattering cubes of butter over the fruit. Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 11 Nov. 2023
Noun
Rapid-fire gunshots can be heard and people on the sidewalk scatter. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 25 Aug. 2023 His property is exactly the aesthetic the F & F production people are trying to fake, with a genuine scatter of cars and cycles, a school bus, an old Volvo, mysteriously torched. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 5 Jan. 2023 When the water is stagnant and still, the bass scatter, suspend, and become hard to catch. Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 18 Apr. 2023 And follows in the trail the scatter of light. Jason Lamphier, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2022 While there’s some scatter, the pattern of better results in late afternoon is very pronounced, with a lot of thick, dark, non-dashed lines. Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 19 Sep. 2021 There is, of course, plenty of scatter: the study applied to real-world runners in real-world marathons. Richard A. Lovett, Outside Online, 6 Oct. 2020 The surprising thing is that people seemed to underestimate African ancestry from apparent physical features (looking at the scatter of apparent to genomic ancestry). Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2012 Aerosols can both absorb and scatter radiation from the sun. Kasha Patel, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Jan. 2023 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English scateren, schateren to disperse, break up, destroy; akin to Middle Dutch schaderen to scatter

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of scatter was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near scatter

Cite this Entry

“Scatter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scatter. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

scatter

verb
scat·​ter
ˈskat-ər
1
: to cause to separate widely
wind scattered the dry leaves
2
: to place or leave here and there
scattered their toys all over the house
3
: to sow widely and without pattern
4
: to separate and go in different directions
the crowd scattered
5
: to occur or fall without pattern
lakes scattered everywhere in the hills

Medical Definition

scatter

1 of 2 transitive verb
scat·​ter ˈskat-ər How to pronounce scatter (audio)
: to cause (a beam of radiation) to diffuse or disperse

scatter

2 of 2 noun
1
: the act of scattering
2
: the state or extent of being scattered
especially : scattering

More from Merriam-Webster on scatter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!