scattering

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of scatter

noun

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

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

   “Only a light scattering of flaws sticks out.”

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