scatterverb
uk/ˈskæt.ər/us/ˈskæt̬.ɚ/scatter verb (MOVE)
[ I or T ] to (cause to) move far apart in different directions:
The protesters scattered at the sound of gunshots.
The soldiers came in and scattered the crowd.
More examples
- Toss the salad and scatter the nuts on top.
- Scatter the cake with a little caster sugar.
- The wreckage of the car was scattered over the roadside.
- Her ashes were scattered at sea.
- Debris from the aircraft was scattered over a large area.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Spreading and scattering
- all over the place idiom
- bedaub
- bestrew
- billow
- circulate
- fan out
- go round (somewhere)
- go/do the rounds idiom
- percolate
- radial
- radiate
- slap
- spread
- spread out
- sprinkling
- straggle
- stretch
- strew
- suffuse
- sweep
See more results »
scatter verb (COVER)
[ T usually + adv/prep ] to cover a surface with things that are far apart and in no particular arrangement:
Scatter the powder around the plants.
I scattered grass seed all over the lawn.
I scattered the whole lawn with grass seed.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Spreading and scattering
- all over the place idiom
- bedaub
- bestrew
- billow
- circulate
- fan out
- go round (somewhere)
- go/do the rounds idiom
- percolate
- radial
- radiate
- slap
- spread
- spread out
- sprinkling
- straggle
- stretch
- strew
- suffuse
- sweep
See more results »
Idiom(s)
be scattered to the four winds