scatter: Meaning and Definition of
scat•ter
Pronunciation: (skat'ur), [key]
— v.t.
- to throw loosely about; distribute at irregular intervals: to scatter seeds.
- to separate and drive off in various directions; disperse: to scatter a crowd.
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- to refract or diffract (light or other electromagnetic radiation) irregularly so as to diffuse in many directions.
- (of a medium) to diffuse or deflect (light or other wave phenomena) by collisions between the wave and particles of the medium.
—v.i.
- to separate and disperse; go in different directions.
—n.
- the act of scattering.
- something that is scattered.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.