litter

[ lit-er ]

/ ˈlɪt ər /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR litter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.

a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.

a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens.

a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.

a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.

straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.

the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.

cat litter.

verb (used with object)

to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.: to be fined for littering the sidewalk.

to scatter (objects) in disorder: They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.

to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often followed by up): Bits of paper littered the floor.

to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.

to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.

to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.

to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.

verb (used without object)

to give birth to a litter: The cat had littered in the closet.

to strew objects about: If you litter, you may be fined.

Nearby words

Idioms

pick of the litter,

the best or choicest of the animals, especially puppies, in a litter.
the best of any class, group, or available selection.

Origin of litter

1250–1300; Middle English litere bed, litter < Anglo-French; Old French litiere < Medieval Latin lectāria, equivalent to Latin lect(us) bed + -āria feminine of -ārius -er²

SYNONYMS FOR litter

2 clutter.

9 mess (up).

10 disarrange, derange.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR litter ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

lit·ter·er, nounan·ti·lit·ter, adjectivean·ti·lit·ter·ing, adjectivede-lit·ter, verb (used with object)

un·lit·tered, adjective

Can be confusedletter lighter liter litter

Synonym study

3. See brood.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for littering

Littering the living room floor were old sports pages and letters and newspaper clippings.
Football Great Bob Suffridge Wanders Through the End Zone of Life|Paul Hemphill|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No littering,” “no smoking,” “no cooking,” “no camping,” “no dogs,” “no glass containers,” “no alcohol,” “no bonfires.
Why I Hate The Beach|P. J. O’Rourke|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While they were found guilty for only littering, witness testimony included examples of healthy animals being euthanized.
PETA Gone Wild: Flour Bombing Kim Kardashian, Accusing HBO of “Murder”|Tricia Romano|April 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The always-adaptive Taliban forced Americans to rely more on helicopters by littering Afghan roads with IEDs.
The Taliban’s Bait Game|John Barry|August 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST

I will take, for instance, the people sent off to gather leaves for littering the cattle sheds.
Gold, Sport, And Coffee Planting In Mysore|Robert H. Elliot
He had a grand time, revelling with pen and pad and littering the floor with inked sheets unnumbered and still wet.
When Winter Comes to Main Street|Grant Martin Overton
The shallow would intrude into these austere places like picnickers in a sanctuary, littering it with their luncheon refuse.
Immortal Youth|Lucien Price
Helene's garments, thrown on the back of an arm-chair before she slipped into bed, had now fallen, and were littering the carpet.
A Love Episode|Emile Zola
Amid her littering entrails she settles swiftly, the stern high upreared, the bows deepening in a wash of wreckage.
Merchantmen-at-Arms|David W. Bone

British Dictionary definitions for littering

litter

/ (ˈlɪtə) /

noun

small refuse or waste materials carelessly dropped, esp in public places
(as modifier)litter bin

a disordered or untidy condition or a collection of objects in this condition

a group of offspring produced at one birth by a mammal such as a sow

a layer of partly decomposed leaves, twigs, etc, on the ground in a wood or forest

straw, hay, or similar material used as bedding, protection, etc, by animals or plants

See cat litter

a means of conveying people, esp sick or wounded people, consisting of a light bed or seat held between parallel sticks

verb

to make (a place) untidy by strewing (refuse)

to scatter (objects, etc) about or (of objects) to lie around or upon (anything) in an untidy fashion

(of pigs, cats, etc) to give birth to (offspring)

(tr) to provide (an animal or plant) with straw or hay for bedding, protection, etc

Word Origin for litter

C13 (in the sense: bed): via Anglo-French, ultimately from Latin lectus bed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for littering (1 of 3)

littering

1540s, of animals, "process of bringing forth young in a single birth," verbal noun from present participle of litter (v.). Meaning "act of furnishing with bedding" is from c.1600. That of "act of dropping litter" is from 1900.

Word Origin and History for littering (1 of 3)

litter

c.1300, "a bed," also "bed-like vehicle carried on men's shoulders" (early 14c.), from Anglo-French litere "portable bed," Old French litiere "litter, stretcher, bier; straw, bedding," from Medieval Latin lectaria "litter" (altered in French by influence of lit "bed"), from Latin lectus "bed, couch," from PIE *legh-to-, from root *legh- "to lie" (see lie (v.2)).

Meaning extended early 15c. to "straw used for bedding" (early 14c. in Anglo-French) and late 15c. to "offspring of an animal at one birth" (in one bed); sense of "scattered oddments, disorderly debris" is first attested 1730, probably from Middle English verb literen "provide with bedding" (late 14c.), with notion of strewing straw. Litter by 19c. had come to mean both the straw bedding and the animal waste in it after use.

Word Origin and History for littering (2 of 3)

litter

late 14c., "provide with bedding," from litter (n.). Meaning "to strew with objects" is from 1713. Transitive sense of "to scatter in a disorderly way" is from 1731. Related: Littered; littering.

Medicine definitions for littering

litter

[ lĭt′ər ]

n.

A flat supporting framework, such as a piece of canvas stretched between parallel shafts, for carrying a disabled or dead person; a stretcher.

The offspring produced at one birth by a multiparous mammal.brood

litter

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of litter

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for littering

British Dictionary definitions for littering

litter

noun

verb

Word Origin for litter

Word Origin and History for littering (1 of 3)

littering

Word Origin and History for littering (1 of 3)

litter

Word Origin and History for littering (2 of 3)

litter

Medicine definitions for littering

litter

n.