scatter
verb/ˈskætə(r)/
/ˈskætər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they scatter | /ˈskætə(r)/ /ˈskætər/ |
| he / she / it scatters | /ˈskætəz/ /ˈskætərz/ |
| past simple scattered | /ˈskætəd/ /ˈskætərd/ |
| past participle scattered | /ˈskætəd/ /ˈskætərd/ |
| -ing form scattering | /ˈskætərɪŋ/ /ˈskætərɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to throw or drop things in different directions so that they cover an area of ground
- scatter something They scattered his ashes at sea.
- scatter something on/over/around something Scatter the grass seed over the lawn.
- He banged his fist on the table and the chess pieces scattered over the floor.
- scatter something with something Scatter the lawn with grass seed.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- [intransitive, transitive] to move or to make people or animals move very quickly in different directions synonym disperse
- At the first gunshot, the crowd scattered.
- The mice scattered when I entered the room.
- scatter somebody/something The explosion scattered a flock of birds roosting in the trees.
Word OriginMiddle English (as a verb): probably a variant of shatter.
Check pronunciation:
scatter