scat·ter·ing
ˈska-tə-riŋ 
2
: something scattered: such as
a
: a small number or quantity interspersed here and there
a scattering of visitors
b
: the random change in direction of the particles constituting a beam or wave front due to collision with particles of the medium traversed
1
: going in various directions
2
: found or placed far apart and in no order
3
: divided among many or several
scattering votes
Examples of scattering in a Sentence
Noun
the scattering of the protesters suddenly turned violent and chaotic
a scattering of people in the mostly empty theater
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura May Todd Enea Arienti, New York Times, 17 May 2024
The small iris and scattering of light work together to create multipoint starbursts around small points of light.
—PCMAG, 16 May 2024
Color Guard, talk by Dr. Richard Davis, Civil War Historian, wreath presentation, taps and the historic scattering of rose pedals on graves in the Civil War section.
—Allison Kiehl, The Enquirer, 15 May 2024
All that was left was a scattering of stones and fragmentary walls on a plateau with commanding views of the plain.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
The show sets viewers up for crescendos of humor and mystery, including a scattering of real-world details — the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, hints tied to Ireland’s Magdalene asylums.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
The full-grown lizard has a pale brown blotch running down its back with a scattering of darker brown or black spots on the rest of its body.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
The Sydney team exploited stimulated Brillouin scattering, a technique which involves converting electrical fields into pressure waves in certain insulators, such as optical fibers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Dec. 2023
The sophisticated wood artifacts from Schöningen join finds from just a scattering of other sites, such as 476,000-year-old wood joists from Zambia published last year and spears and other tools found elsewhere in Europe.
—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024
Noun
The restaurant itself looks like a slightly theatrical living room, with its scattering of Persian rugs and tall candlesticks.
—Laura May Todd Enea Arienti, New York Times, 17 May 2024
The small iris and scattering of light work together to create multipoint starbursts around small points of light.
—PCMAG, 16 May 2024
Color Guard, talk by Dr. Richard Davis, Civil War Historian, wreath presentation, taps and the historic scattering of rose pedals on graves in the Civil War section.
—Allison Kiehl, The Enquirer, 15 May 2024
All that was left was a scattering of stones and fragmentary walls on a plateau with commanding views of the plain.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024
The show sets viewers up for crescendos of humor and mystery, including a scattering of real-world details — the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, hints tied to Ireland’s Magdalene asylums.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 May 2024
The full-grown lizard has a pale brown blotch running down its back with a scattering of darker brown or black spots on the rest of its body.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
The Sydney team exploited stimulated Brillouin scattering, a technique which involves converting electrical fields into pressure waves in certain insulators, such as optical fibers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Dec. 2023
The sophisticated wood artifacts from Schöningen join finds from just a scattering of other sites, such as 476,000-year-old wood joists from Zambia published last year and spears and other tools found elsewhere in Europe.
—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scattering.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scattering
Cite this Entry
“Scattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scattering. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scattering
1 of 2 noun
scat·ter·ing
ˈskat-ə-riŋ
1
: an act or process in which something scatters or is scattered
2
: something scattered
especially
: a small number or amount placed or found here and there
a scattering of visitors
scattering
2 of 2 adjective1
: going in various directions
2
: found or placed far apart and in no pattern
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share