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.
Yet one of Ms. Lewin’s main arguments is that writing gets done in transitory and chaotic spaces, too: in cafes, at kitchen tables, on the train and amid a fair amount of clutter and detritus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Carson resident Evy Llamas recalled seeing furniture constantly moving in and out from the house down the street, new faces coming and going, and what appeared to be heavy clutter inside.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
It's a vibrant neighbourhood, popular with young people and tourists - but it's also said to be a hotspot for e-bike clutter.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026
A tube of lipstick tossed onto a scatter of counter clutter.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
She was notoriously compulsive about keeping their home spotless, and yet every nook and cranny of their house was filled to the brim with tightly organized clutter.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
