scatter
Americanverb (used with object)
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scatters,
present (3rd person singular)
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scattered,
past participle, past
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scattering
present participle
-
to throw loosely about; distribute at irregular intervals.
to scatter seeds.
- Synonyms:
- broadcast
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to separate and drive off in various directions; disperse.
to scatter a crowd.
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Physics.
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to refract or diffract (light or otherelectromagnetic radiation ) irregularly so as to diffuse in many directions.
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(of a medium) to diffuse or deflect (light or other wave phenomena) by collisions between the wave and particles of the medium.
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verb (used without object)
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scatters,
present (3rd person singular)
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scattered,
past participle, past
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scattering
present participle
noun
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scatters
plural
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the act of scattering.
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something that is scattered.
verb
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(tr) to throw about in various directions; strew
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to separate and move or cause to separate and move in various directions; disperse
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to deviate or cause to deviate in many directions, as in the diffuse reflection or refraction of light
noun
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the act of scattering
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a substance or a number of objects scattered about
Synonym Usage
See sprinkle. Scatter, dispel, disperse, dissipate imply separating and driving something away so that its original form disappears. To scatter is to separate something tangible into parts at random, and drive these in different directions: The wind scattered leaves all over the lawn. To dispel is to drive away or scatter usually intangible things so that they vanish or cease to exist: Photographs of the race dispelled all doubts as to which horse won. To disperse is usually to cause a compact or organized tangible body to separate or scatter in different directions, to be reassembled if desired: Tear gas dispersed the mob. To dissipate is usually to scatter by dissolving or reducing to small atoms or parts that cannot be brought together again: He dissipated his money and his energy in useless activities.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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scattersimple
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scatterssimple
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have scatteredperfect
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has scatteredperfect
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am scatteringprogressive
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are scatteringprogressive
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is scatteringprogressive
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have been scatteringperfect progressive
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has been scatteringperfect progressive
Past
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scatteredsimple
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had scatteredperfect
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was scatteringprogressive
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were scatteringprogressive
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had been scatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scatter
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English scatere; compare Dutch schateren “to burst out laughing”
Explanation
If you hear someone shout "Everybody scatter!” that person wants everyone to spread out and leave the area. Scatter is a verb that means "to separate suddenly and spread out in different directions." Scatter is sometimes used as a noun to refer to something that has been scattered. If you have clothes strewn all over your room, you might say there is a scatter of clothes on the floor. More commonly, though, scatter is used as a verb meaning “to spread about.” You might scatter grass seed on your front lawn in the spring. Scatter can also mean “break up or disperse.” The police, for instance, might scatter an unruly mob or gathering.
Vocabulary lists containing scatter
Beowulf vocabulary
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Bronx Masquerade
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"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet"
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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.
See Examples For:
One of the displaced, Abdulali al-Rajihi, said the Houthis "told us: 'Leave, scatter, you have half an hour'".
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
Clarke says the effect can be made even cosier by pairing lighting with soft furnishings, such as floor-to-ceiling curtains and scatter cushions in different colours and patterns.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Desperate for any advantage, the Night Court’s Inner Circle must scatter far and wide to face emerging past enemies and salvage Prythian’s fragile peace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Finish: Rest at least 15 minutes, then scatter with scallions or chives.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Ash Wednesday before they went back to scatter out along the coast, Amaranta got them to put on Sunday clothes and accompany her to church.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Another, in a blue tunic that echoes the sky, scatters wheat seeds in the new furrows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
"These measurements are extremely difficult because carbon is a small and lightweight atom. It scatters very few X-rays, so the signal we needed to measure was quite faint."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Instead of allowing NIR photons to pass straight through the thin silicon layer, the textured surface scatters the light repeatedly, increasing the likelihood that the silicon absorbs it.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026
“Sometimes the robot’s arms throw the clothes and won’t fold properly. Sometimes it scatters the stack,” but the robots are learning quickly said Kavin, 27, an Objectways employee who goes by one name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2025
A priest in the college cellar scatters holy water on the walls.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
We all live scattered about the country so we try to go somewhere none of us have been each year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Those predictions include tiny temperature variations scattered across the CMB.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Televised images showed bomb-disposal robots approaching three white vans, which had rear back doors opened and items scattered on the ground.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Local media reported people were injured by material scattered across nearby streets and some buildings needed to be evacuated.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
Soon the entire mass of leaves was scattered, revealing something the trolls did not want me to see.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Additional experiments using isotopic labeling and neutron scattering showed how the structure of the starting polymer influences the resulting fuel.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
The agency said federal regulations allow sunroofs to be made with tempered glass, which must break into gravel-like pieces, or laminated glass, where pieces stay stuck to a plastic interlayer instead of scattering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere is scattered, with shorter blue wavelengths scattering more easily, while more of the longer wavelength red light reached the Moon.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
A police pursuit early Wednesday through Los Angeles ended in dramatic fashion when the fleeing vehicle smashed into a row of parked cars, injuring the driver and scattering glass and debris across the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Captain knelt down beside the old woman, scattering cats in every direction.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
