scat·ter·ing
ˈska-tə-riŋ 
2
: something scattered: such as
a
: a small number or quantity interspersed here and there
a scattering of visitors
b
: the random change in direction of the particles constituting a beam or wave front due to collision with particles of the medium traversed
1
: going in various directions
2
: found or placed far apart and in no order
3
: divided among many or several
scattering votes
Examples of scattering in a Sentence
Noun
the scattering of the protesters suddenly turned violent and chaotic
a scattering of people in the mostly empty theater
Recent Examples on the Web
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Apr. 2026
The atmosphere is lousy with the stuff, tinting the air a butterscotch color—except near the sun in the sky, where light scattering creates a blue aura that is best visible at sunset.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2026
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scattering
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Noun
At the site, the team used a technique known as inelastic neutron scattering, that is defined as an event where neutrons lose or gain energy by transferring energy to form a sample.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Apr. 2026
The atmosphere is lousy with the stuff, tinting the air a butterscotch color—except near the sun in the sky, where light scattering creates a blue aura that is best visible at sunset.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Published in the journal Science, the study points out that the efficient heat dissipation is fundamentally limited by intrinsic scattering mechanisms that cap the thermal conductivity of metallic materials such as copper to ~ 400 Watts per meter Kelvin.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for scattering
Cite this Entry
“Scattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scattering. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scattering
1 of 2 noun
scat·ter·ing
ˈskat-ə-riŋ
1
: an act or process in which something scatters or is scattered
2
: something scattered
especially
: a small number or amount placed or found here and there
a scattering of visitors
scattering
2 of 2 adjective1
: going in various directions
2
: found or placed far apart and in no pattern
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