# scatter

Pronunciation: US say "SKA-tur" /ˈskætɚ/; UK say "SKA-tuh" /ˈskætə/

## Verb

1. To separate and move off in different directions, or to cause something to do so.
   - Simple: To break up and move away in many different directions.
   - _When the alarm sounded, the workers scattered across the parking lot._
   - _A single gust can scatter dry leaves across the whole yard._
2. To distribute something loosely over an area, as if by sprinkling it.
   - Simple: To drop or throw small things here and there over an area.
   - _He scattered breadcrumbs along the trail to mark the way._
   - _Farmers scatter fertilizer evenly across the fields each spring._
3. To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals across an area or stretch of time.
   - Simple: To happen or appear spread out, with big gaps in between.
   - _Lonely farmhouses scatter across the open prairie._
   - _Power outages scattered through the week, never lasting long._
6. To deflect radiation or particles so that they travel off in various directions.
   - Simple: To make light, heat, or tiny particles bounce off in different directions.
   - _Air molecules scatter blue light more strongly than red, which is why the sky looks blue._
   - _The metal foil scattered the incoming beam of electrons._
7. To leave a place, especially quickly. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To go away, often quickly.
   - _We'd better scatter before the manager notices us._
   - _They scattered the moment they heard sirens._
8. To lie dispersed across a surface, dotting it at intervals.
   - Simple: To be spread out over a surface, covering it here and there.
   - _Countless stars scatter the night sky._
   - _Fallen petals scattered the garden path._
9. Of a pitcher, to allow hits or walks but keep them spread out so they rarely lead to runs.
   - Simple: In baseball, to allow only a few hits, spread out so the other team rarely scores.
   - _She scattered seven hits across the complete game without allowing a run._
   - _A good starter can scatter base runners and escape every inning unscathed._
10. To frustrate and overthrow someone's plans, hopes, or massed forces.
   - Simple: To ruin someone's plans or hopes and defeat them completely.
   - _The general's bold attack scattered the enemy's defenses completely._
   - _A single setback should not scatter your ambitions._

## Noun

4. The action of separating and dispersing in different directions.
   - Simple: The sudden moving apart of things or people in many directions.
   - _The dancers' sudden scatter left the stage empty within seconds._
   - _Biologists studied the scatter of the herd when predators approached._
5. A loosely spread set of objects distributed across an area.
   - Simple: A group of things spread out loosely over an area.
   - _A scatter of papers covered the entire desk._
   - _From the hill we could see a scatter of small islands across the bay._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English scateren (also linked to "shatter") and Old English *sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse. It may go back to Proto-Indo-European *skey- ("to cut, split, shatter") and is apparently remotely related to Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi, "scatter, disperse"); it is a doublet of "shatter".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/scatter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).