litter Hear it!

litter Definition

lit·ter (lit′ər)

noun

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

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

transitive verb

  1. to supply with a bed, covering, etc. of straw, hay, or the like
  2. to bring forth (a number of young) at one time: said of certain animals
  3. to make messy with things scattered about
  4. to scatter about carelessly

intransitive verb

to bear a litter of young

litter Synonyms

litter

n.

  1. A mess

    scattering, jumble, hodgepodge; see rash 1, 3.

  2. The young of certain animals

    cubs, pigs, piglets, puppies, kittens; see also offspring.

litter Synonyms

litter

v.

scatter, confuse, jumble; see dirty.

litter Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • strew: Finally we wish to thank Bob Everly, local beach warden, without whom Sand Bay would be litter strewn.
  • drop: Members of the public caught dropping litter will also continue to be hit with £ 50 fixed penalty notices.

Adjective modifier

  • unsightly: Remove unsightly litter on the way round the walk.

Modifies a noun

  • tray: Do not place the litter tray near the bed or food.
  • bin: There are hundreds of litter bins in the district.
  • picking: Planting, pruning, tidying litter picking, helping to put up notice board!
  • picker: Between times the litter pickers perform a valuable service in keeping things tidy.
  • lout: A series of patrols to clamp down on litter louts are already underway across North Lanarkshire in a bid to keep our areas Streetsmart.
  • pick: Litter pick in a various parts of the village.

Noun used with modifier

  • kitty: For larger amounts, mix in kitty litter or pour one-inch layers of paint in a cardboard box lined with a plastic bag.
  • leaf: Between bouts of feeding the older caterpillars rest at the bottom of the plant, often hiding in leaf litter.
  • gum: Polymer solution to chewing gum litter A university spin-off company is using polymers to solve the perennial problem of chewing gum litter.
  • bracken: Areas of grass and bracken litter can be treated in the same way.
  • cat: Posted by Clair on 29 November, 2005 at 12:12 PM Use earth or leaf mold litter instead of cat litter.
  • turkey: That leaves the top section on plot 5 where I spread leafmould and have piled turkey litter.

Preposition: of

  • kitten: We are currently waiting for our first litter of kittens to arrive!
  • puppy: Imagine any litter of puppies, be they retrievers, sheep dogs, guard dogs, racing dogs, whatever.
  • piglet: The parents are shown at either end of the photograph with their litter of piglets in between them.
  • pup: Also Breeders with litters of pups - send your puppy away with an informative puppy pack to include a book on your breed.

Preposition: with

  • corps: For, so I am told, all those plains and hills were littered only with the prostrate corpses of our loathsome enemies.