scattering

• IPA^(key): /ˈskætəɹɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: scat‧ter‧ing

scattering

1. present participle and gerund of scatter

scattering (plural scatterings)

1. A small quantity of something beeing dispersed (at random points).

   There will be a scattering of showers, with heavy rain in places.

   • 1976 April 3, Don Shewey, “Pass Judgment, Go To Woolf”, in Gay Community News, page 15:

     Only a light scattering of flaws sticks out.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎:

     There was something distinctly low-key, even wilfully alienating about the band’s performance. A scattering of OK Computer tracks were interspersed with more abstract latterday material – the clatter of 15 Step and Myxamatosis.

2. (elections) The total number of votes awarded to nonmajor or unlisted candidates.
3. (physics) The process whereby a beam of waves or particles is dispersed by collisions or similar interactions.

• light-scattering