clutter
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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British Dialect. to run in disorder; move with bustle and confusion.
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British Dialect. to make a clatter.
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to speak so rapidly and inexactly that distortions of sound and phrasing result.
noun
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a disorderly heap or assemblage; litter.
It's impossible to find anything in all this clutter.
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a state or condition of confusion.
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confused noise; clatter.
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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.
verb
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to strew or amass (objects) in a disorderly manner
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(intr) to move about in a bustling manner
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(intr) to chatter or babble
noun
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a disordered heap or mass of objects
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a state of disorder
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unwanted echoes that confuse the observation of signals on a radar screen
Other Word Forms
- overclutter verb (used with object)
- unclutter verb (used with object)
- uncluttered adjective
Etymology
Origin of clutter
1550–60; variant of clotter (now obsolete), equivalent to clot + -er 6
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their bedroom may be cluttered with all manner of diversion and playthings, but what they really want is that shiny, as-yet unattained object — Rick Caruso! — beckoning from behind glass.
From Los Angeles Times
“After all,” he says, looking around his cluttered workshop, “what are they going to do with all this stuff?”
The issue of clutter has been known for years and can be resolved through software and firmware changes on weapons systems and radars, as well as proper training for operators of those systems, he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Specifically, the announcement noted that officials are concerned about radar interference "clutter" that can obscure real moving targets or, conversely, create false ones.
From BBC
Merchandise piled up in stores, leaving them cluttered.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
