scatter
/ˈskætə/
"scatter" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scatter” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,477 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #17,477
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | scatter |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈskætə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #17,477 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scatter” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scatter is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskætə/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,477 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for scatter, with forms such as "csatter", "sactter", and "scater". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "slater", "skater", "sitter", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scateren, skateren, also schateren, * probably a variant of shatter, which is imitative; * or from Old English *sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse, possibly ultimately related to Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split, … The correct English form is scatter, spelled S-C-A-T-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1To (cause to) separate and go in different directions; to disperse.
- 2To distribute loosely as by sprinkling.
- 3To deflect (radiation or particles).
- 4To occur or fall at widely spaced intervals.
- 5To frustrate, disappoint, and overthrow.
- 6To be dispersed upon.
- 7Of a pitcher: to keep down the number of hits or walks.
- 8To leave.
Etymology
From Middle English scateren, skateren, also schateren, * probably a variant of shatter, which is imitative; * or from Old English *sceaterian, probably from a dialect of Old Norse, possibly ultimately related to Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split, shatter”). Compare Middle Dutch scheteren (“to scatter”), Low German schateren, Dutch schateren (“to burst out laughing”); and is apparently remotely akin to Ancient Greek σκεδάννυμι (skedánnumi, “scatter, disperse”). and Tocharian B kät- (“to scatter, sow seeds”). Doublet of shatter.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: csatter,sactter,scater,scatetr,scatterr,scattre,sccatter,sctater,sscatter
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scatter - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “scatter”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-A-T-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskætə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “slater” - see the side-by-side comparison. scatter vs slater
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.