litterbug

[lit-er-buhg]

noun

a person who litters public places with items of refuse: Litterbugs had thrown beer cans on the picnic grounds.

Origin of litterbug

First recorded in 1945–50; litter + bug¹

Related formslit·ter·bug·ging, noun

Word Origin and History for litterbug

1947, from litter + bug (n.). According to Mario Pei ("The Story of Language," Lippincott, 1949) "coined by the New York subways on the analogy of 'jitterbug' ...."