litter

Litter is defined as trash or garbage that is not disposed of properly and that is left laying where it doesn't belong.

(noun)

An example of litter is garbage lying on public streets or roads.

The definition of litter is absorbent materials in an indoor pan which is used to absorb the waste of a cat.

(noun)

An example of litter are the grey granules of clay used in a cat's litter box.

See litter in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a framework having long horizontal shafts near the bottom and enclosing a couch on which a person can be carried
a stretcher for carrying the sick or wounded
straw, hay, leaves, etc. used as bedding for animals, as a protective covering for plants, etc.
a kind of granular clay used in an indoor receptacle () to absorb the waste of domestic cats
the young borne at one time by a dog, cat, or other animal which normally bears several young at a delivery
things lying about in disorder, esp., bits of rubbish scattered about
untidiness; disorder
Forestry the surface layer of the forest floor, in which the leaves are slightly decomposed

Origin: ME litere < OFr litiere < ML literia, lectaria < L lectus, a couch: see lie

transitive verb

intransitive verb

to bear a litter of young

See litter in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A disorderly accumulation of objects; a pile.
b. Carelessly discarded refuse, such as wastepaper: the litter in the streets after a parade.
The offspring produced at one birth by a multiparous mammal. See Synonyms at flock¹.
a. Material, such as straw, used as bedding for animals.
b. An absorbent material, such as granulated clay, for covering the floor of an animal's cage or excretory box.
An enclosed or curtained couch mounted on shafts and used to carry a single passenger.
A flat supporting framework, such as a piece of canvas stretched between parallel shafts, for carrying a disabled or dead person; a stretcher.
The uppermost layer of the forest floor consisting chiefly of fallen leaves and other decaying organic matter.

verb lit·tered, lit·ter·ing, lit·ters

verb, transitive

To give birth to (a litter).
To make untidy by discarding rubbish carelessly: Selfish picnickers litter the beach with food wrappers.
To scatter about: littered towels all over the locker room.
To supply (animals) with litter for bedding or floor covering.

verb, intransitive