scattering
Americanadjective
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distributed or occurring here and there at irregular intervals; scattered.
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straggling, as an assemblage of parts.
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(of votes) cast in small numbers for various candidates.
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distributing, dispersing, or separating.
noun
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a small, scattered number or quantity.
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Physics. the process in which a wave or beam of particles is diffused or deflected by collisions with particles of the medium that it traverses.
noun
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a small amount
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physics the process in which particles, atoms, etc, are deflected as a result of collision
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The spreading of a stream of particles or a beam of rays, as of light, over a range of directions as a result of collisions with other particles. The sky appears blue due to the tendency of air molecules to scatter blue and violet light more than light of other frequencies. The scattering probabilities and patterns of subatomic particles, accelerated by particle accelerators and aimed at a target, is a major component of experimental particle physics.
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See also diffusion cross section
Etymology
Origin of scattering
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at scatter, -ing 2, -ing 1
Vocabulary lists containing scattering
Physics - Introductory
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Physics - Middle School
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Physics - High School
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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.
The stock barely reacted to results of an experiment with the Cleveland Clinic at the start of the month, and didn’t budge when IBM released data from a neutron scattering experiment in March.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
They assumed it sensed danger, but it was actually steering them: They blundered into a goose nest, scattering the frightened adults.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The new study focused on scattering amplitudes, mathematical expressions describing the outcomes of particle collisions.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
During their week in Vegas, Rose and her daughter fulfilled their plan, scattering her husband Pete's ashes at the MGM Hotel.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
Ranofer had seen the pair often hobbling about the streets of the City of the Dead, but their sudden appearance here sent his wits scattering like startled birds.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
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.
