From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscatterscat‧ter /ˈskætə $ -ər/ ●●○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 SPREADif someone scatters a lot of things, or if they scatter, they are thrown or dropped over a wide area in an irregular wayscatter (something) over/around/across etc something Scatter the onions over the fish. The flowers fell and scattered on the ground.2 ESCAPEif a group of people or animals scatter, or if something scatters them, they move quickly in different directions The sound of gunfire made the crowd scatter in all directions. → scattered, scattering→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
scatter• There was a sudden crack of gunfire, and the crowd scattered.• When a police van drove by, the boys scattered.• Why don't you scatter a few cushions around the room?• The central green had cars scattered all around it.• I suppose they were rallying the scattered army.• At the sound of gunfire, the crowd scattered in all directions.• The demonstrators suddenly turned and scattered in all directions.• Today the last condor nests lie scattered on the ledges, and the last three birds left in the wild are males.• Then they scattered, stopping to read in the middle of Congress Street one name and then the other.• Soldiers used tear gas to scatter the crowd.• Small Whites scatter through the flowery headlands and in this light seem to have an almost violet glow about them.• The storm scattered tiles everywhere.• Valleys in the Yorkshire Dales are scattered with dozens of these field barns, virtually all disused.• And there may be a few scattered works where applause would just feel wrong.From Longman Business Dictionaryscatterscat‧ter /ˈskætə-ər/ noun [uncountable] American EnglishMARKETING used to talk about advertising that is spread over a wide range of television or radio programmes according to what is available, rather than done by selecting particular programmes to SPONSORTV scatter advertising sales for the second quarter are picking up.The scatter market is popular among advertisers who don’t want to make a long-term commitment.Origin scatter (1100-1200) Perhaps from shatter 