clutter

[ kluht-er ]

verb (used with object)

1. to fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner:

   All kinds of papers cluttered the top of his desk.

verb (used without object)

1. British Dialect. to run in disorder; move with bustle and confusion.
2. British Dialect. to make a clatter.
3. to speak so rapidly and inexactly that distortions of sound and phrasing result.

noun

1. a disorderly heap or assemblage; litter:

   It's impossible to find anything in all this clutter.

   Synonyms: jumble, disorder, mess

2. a state or condition of confusion.
3. confused noise; clatter.
4. an echo or echoes on a radar screen that do not come from the target and can be caused by such factors as atmospheric conditions, objects other than the target, chaff, and jamming of the radar signal.

clutter

/ ˈklʌtə /

verb

1. usually troften foll byup to strew or amass (objects) in a disorderly manner
2. intr to move about in a bustling manner
3. intr to chatter or babble

noun

1. a disordered heap or mass of objects
2. a state of disorder
3. unwanted echoes that confuse the observation of signals on a radar screen

Other Words From

• over·clutter verb (used with object)
• un·clutter verb (used with object)
• un·cluttered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clutter¹

1550–60; variant of clotter (now obsolete), equivalent to clot + -er ⁶

Word History and Origins

Origin of clutter¹

C15 clotter, from clotteren to clot

Example Sentences

The rocker was transported to a hospital after the stroke and had “fantastic care” but didn’t want to publicize his illness because he didn’t want sympathy or anything that would “clutter up my inbox.”

From Los Angeles Times

The more I find myself distanced from the clutter of action figures and collectibles, the more I find myself loving comics.

From Salon

If you pull them apart, you’ll find yourself in a cluttered nook where a desk rests atop a bunk bed next to a wall filled with posters, including one of musician Andrew Bird.

From Los Angeles Times

"They give feelings of comfort, safety, security - whatever it may be. The clutter is just a symptom of what's going on with the individual."

From BBC

Jot has the ability to jump between the 2D world of its pages and the 3D world outside - a cluttered desktop where everyday objects become towering obstacles for the tiny character to navigate.

From BBC

Related Words

• litter
• muddle
• strew