scattershot
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of scattershot
First recorded in 1960–65; adj. use of scatter shot
Explanation
Anything that's scattershot is very broad and disorganized. Your scattershot method of planting a garden involves sprinkling wildflower seeds randomly around the lawn, rather than digging a flower bed and preparing the soil. Scattershot comes from a shotgun that shoots small pellets in a wide range, rather than zeroing in on a specific target. It's used today for anything that takes that kind of haphazard, indiscriminate approach. A scattershot education might mean learning a little of this and that, instead delving deeply into one subject. And a scattershot response to a forest fire could be an ineffective attempt at quashing the flames here and there, rather than a deliberate, focused effort.
Vocabulary lists containing scattershot
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
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Compound Fracture
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McKenzie recommends a scattershot approach to airline stocks.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
While the earlier collection exhibition felt scattershot and left one with only a hazy sense of what the museum represents, this display offers a penetrating overview in miniature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
He spoke with reporters from The Atlantic, the Washington Post, Axios, the New York Times, ABC News and other media outlets, offering a scattershot array of justifications and timelines.
From Salon ● Mar. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, the scattershot green spaces across Los Angeles offer another opportunity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Most human groups are a scattershot mix of HLA profiles, which means that almost always some people in the group will not get sick when exposed to a particular pathogen.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
