scattering

Verb

scatter (third-person singular simple present scatters, present participle scattering, simple past and past participle scattered)

1. (ergative) To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse.
   • The crowd scattered in terror.
2. (transitive) To distribute loosely as by sprinkling.
   • Her ashes were scattered at the top of a waterfall.
3. (transitive) To deflect (radiation or particles).
   • Chasca's ring is unique. It appears to be, for lack of a better term, a massive piece of alien "installation art." The rings are made of small pieces of synthetic material, and are almost invisible from space. From the ground, they catch and scatter the light of Matano in picturesque ways. It is...2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Chasca planetary description
4. (intransitive) To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals.
5. (transitive) To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow.
   • to scatter hopes or plans
6. (transitive) To be dispersed upon.
   • Desiccated stalks scattered the fields.

See all 10 meanings of scatter