What does "scatter" mean?
The act of scattering or dispersing.
Scatter
/ˈskætə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of scattering or dispersing.
- Grammar: scatter is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: scattering, spread, atomize, bend.
- Useful contrasts: base concept, collected results, educational cohorting.
- Usage evidence: Don't scatter your things about.
How to use "scatter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "scatter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "scatter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "scatter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "scatter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "scatter" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "scattering" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "scatter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of scattering or dispersing. countable, uncountable
- 2 the act of scattering wordnet
- 3 A collection of dispersed objects. countable, uncountable
"The Los Angeles Basin evolved as a mobility surface principally through the combination of an initial system of electric railways connecting a scatter of agricultural settlement settlements."
- 4 a haphazard distribution in all directions wordnet
Verb
- 1 To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse. ergative
"The crowd scattered in fright."
- 2 cause to separate wordnet
- 3 To distribute loosely as by sprinkling. transitive
"The fish scattered along the waterfall."
- 4 distribute loosely wordnet
- 5 To deflect (radiation or particles). transitive
"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 not known who created the ring or when."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 sow by scattering wordnet
- 7 To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals. intransitive
- 8 move away from each other wordnet
- 9 To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow. transitive
"to scatter hopes or plans"
- 10 to cause to separate and go in different directions wordnet
- 11 To be dispersed upon. transitive
"Desiccated stalks scattered the fields."
- 12 strew or distribute over an area wordnet
- 13 Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks. transitive
- 14 To leave. US, slang
"When the police showed up, I scattered."
Antonyms
base conceptcollected resultseducational cohortinggerman form
Example
"Don't scatter your things about."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "scatter"?
Common synonyms include: scattering, spread, atomize, bend, besprinkle, bestrew.
How do you use "scatter" in a sentence?
Don't scatter your things about.
How do you pronounce "scatter"?
Pronounced /ˈskætə/.
Etymology
From Middle English scateren, skateren, also schateren, * probably a variant of shatter, which is imitative; * or from Old English *sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse, possibly ultimately related to Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split, shatter”). Compare Middle Dutch scheteren (“to scatter”), Low German schateren, Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”); and is apparently remotely akin to Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi, “scatter, disperse”). and Tocharian B kät- (“to scatter, sow seeds”). Doublet of shatter.