Definitions for scatter
ˈskæt ərscat·ter

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scatter, spread(noun)

   a haphazard distribution in all directions

2. scatter, scattering, strewing(verb)

   the act of scattering

3. disperse, dissipate, dispel, break up, scatter(verb)

   to cause to separate and go in different directions

   "She waved her hand and scattered the crowds"

4. disperse, dissipate, scatter, spread out(verb)

   move away from each other

   "The crowds dispersed"; "The children scattered in all directions when the teacher approached";

5. scatter, sprinkle, dot, dust, disperse(verb)

   distribute loosely

   "He scattered gun powder under the wagon"

6. scatter(verb)

   sow by scattering

   "scatter seeds"

7. break up, disperse, scatter(verb)

   cause to separate

   "break up kidney stones"; "disperse particles"

8. spread, scatter, spread out(verb)

   strew or distribute over an area

   "He spread fertilizer over the lawn"; "scatter cards across the table"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. scatter(Verb)

   To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse.

   Etymology: From scateren, from sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. Compare Low German schateren, Dutch schateren and Norwegian skratte ('to burst out laughing').

2. scatter(Verb)

   To distribute loosely as by sprinkling.

   Her ashes were scattered at the top of a waterfall.

   Etymology: From scateren, from sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. Compare Low German schateren, Dutch schateren and Norwegian skratte ('to burst out laughing').

3. scatter(Verb)

   To deflect (radiation or particles).

   Etymology: From scateren, from sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. Compare Low German schateren, Dutch schateren and Norwegian skratte ('to burst out laughing').

4. scatter(Verb)

   To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals.

   Etymology: From scateren, from sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. Compare Low German schateren, Dutch schateren and Norwegian skratte ('to burst out laughing').

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Scatter(verb)

   to strew about; to sprinkle around; to throw down loosely; to deposit or place here and there, esp. in an open or sparse order

2. Scatter(verb)

   to cause to separate in different directions; to reduce from a close or compact to a loose or broken order; to dissipate; to disperse

3. Scatter(verb)

   hence, to frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow; as, to scatter hopes, plans, or the like

4. Scatter(verb)

   to be dispersed or dissipated; to disperse or separate; as, clouds scatter after a storm

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Scatter

   skat′ėr, v.t. to disperse in all directions: to throw loosely about: to strew: to sprinkle: to dispel: to put to flight: to drop: to throw shot too loosely.—v.i. to be dispersed or dissipated.—n. Scatt′erbrain, a thoughtless, giddy person.—adjs. Scatt′er-brained, giddy; Scatt′ered, widely separated: wandering: distracted: irregular.—ns. Scatt′erer, one who or that which scatters; Scatt′er-good, a spendthrift; Scatt′er-gun, a shot-gun; Scatt′ering, something scattered: dispersion: that which has been scattered: the irregular reflection of light from a surface not perfectly smooth.—adj. dispersing: rare, sporadic: diversified.—adv. Scatt′eringly, in a dispersed manner: here and there.—ns. Scatt′erling (Spens.), one who has no fixed abode: a vagabond; Scatt′ermouch, any Latin or Levantine, in Pacific slang.—adj. Scatt′ery, dispersed: sparse: few and far between. [A.S. scateran, scaterian; cf. Shatter.]

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'scatter' in Verbs Frequency: #833

How to pronounce scatter?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say scatter in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of scatter in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of scatter in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of scatter in a Sentence

1. Jonathan Davis:

   We know dark matter exists around galaxies and we want to ask — if light from the galaxy can scatter off the dark matter, like a dust cloud, can you actually observe this light?

2. Karim Sadr:

   It was only in 2016 after poring over all of that detailed imagery that I eventually realized that the homesteads are not a scatter of villages but parts of one entity; a city, rather than a dispersion of homesteads.

3. George Washington:

   May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us in all our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

4. Hau Kha:

   They fire artillery, there are often casualties and the civilians scatter into the jungle.

5. Google Translate:

   In the smoke haze, the most abundant particles are around onemicrometre in size, but these particles do not change the colour of the light we see, there are also smaller particles, around 0.05 micrometres or less, that dont make up a lot of the haze but are still somewhat more abundant during a haze period [than a normal non-haze period]... but this is enough to give an extra tendency to scatter red light more in the forward and backward directions than blue light - and that is why would you see more red than blue.

Images & Illustrations of scatter

Popularity rank by frequency of use