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definitions

litter

[lit-er]
See more synonyms for litter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.
  2. a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.
  3. a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens.
  4. a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.
  5. a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.
  6. straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.
  7. the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.
  8. cat litter.
verb (used with object)
  1. to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.: to be fined for littering the sidewalk.
  2. to scatter (objects) in disorder: They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.
  3. to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often followed by up): Bits of paper littered the floor.
  4. to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.
  5. to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.
  6. to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.
  7. to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.
verb (used without object)
  1. to give birth to a litter: The cat had littered in the closet.
  2. to strew objects about: If you litter, you may be fined.
Idioms
  1. pick of the litter,
    1. the best or choicest of the animals, especially puppies, in a litter.
    2. 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
Related formslit·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

Synonyms for litter

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2. clutter. 9. mess (up). 10. disarrange, derange.

Synonym study

3. See brood.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pick of the litter

champion, choice, cream, darling, favorite, pet, preference, prime, prize, dearest
British Dictionary definitions for pick of the litter

litter

noun
    1. small refuse or waste materials carelessly dropped, esp in public places
    2. (as modifier)litter bin
  2. a disordered or untidy condition or a collection of objects in this condition
  3. a group of offspring produced at one birth by a mammal such as a sow
  4. a layer of partly decomposed leaves, twigs, etc, on the ground in a wood or forest
  5. straw, hay, or similar material used as bedding, protection, etc, by animals or plants
  6. See cat litter
  7. a means of conveying people, esp sick or wounded people, consisting of a light bed or seat held between parallel sticks
verb
  1. to make (a place) untidy by strewing (refuse)
  2. to scatter (objects, etc) about or (of objects) to lie around or upon (anything) in an untidy fashion
  3. (of pigs, cats, etc) to give birth to (offspring)
  4. (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 pick of the litter

litter

n.

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.

litter

v.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pick of the litter in Medicine

litter

[lĭt′ər]
n.
  1. A flat supporting framework, such as a piece of canvas stretched between parallel shafts, for carrying a disabled or dead person; a stretcher.
  2. The offspring produced at one birth by a multiparous mammal.brood
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with pick of the litter

pick of the litter

The best of a group, as in He was first in the ticket line so he had the pick of the litter. This term, alluding to the most desirable one from a litter of puppies or kittens, supplanted such earlier variants as pick of the market, pick of the parish, and pick of the basket. [Early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.