English Dictionary
Definition of “litter”
litter (ˈlɪtə
)
Definitions
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
C13 (in the sense: bed): via Anglo-French, ultimately from Latin lectus bed
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
rubbish,
refuse,
waste,
fragments,
junk,
debris,
shreds,
garbage,
trash,
muck,
detritus,
grot,
=
jumble,
mess,
disorder,
confusion,
scatter,
tangle,
muddle,
clutter,
disarray,
untidiness,
Translations
- British English:
litter
Litter is rubbish which is left lying around outside.If you see litter in the corridor, pick it up.ˈlɪtə NOUN If you see litter in the corridor, pick it up.
- Spanish:
desperdicios
npl
- French:
détritus
nm_pl
- German:
Abfall
nm Abfälle
- Chinese: 垃圾 n
- Arabic: زِبَالَةٌ n
- Portuguese: lixo nm
- Russian: мусор nm
- Croatian: smeće nnt
- Czech: odpadky npl
- Danish: skrald nnt
- Dutch: rommel nm
- Finnish: roskat npl
- Greek: σκουπίδια npl
- Italian: spazzatura nf
- Japanese: ごみ n
- Korean: 쓰레기 n
- Norwegian: avfall nm
- Polish: odpadki npl
- Brazilian Portuguese: lixo nm
- European Spanish:
desperdicios
npl
- Swedish: skräp nnt
- Thai: ขยะ n
- Turkish: çöp n
- Vietnamese: rác rưởi n
- British English:
litter
A litter is a group of animals born to the same mother at the same time....a litter of pups.ˈlɪtə NOUN ...a litter of pups.
- Spanish:
camada
nf
- French:
portée
nf
- German:
Wurf
nm Würfe
- Chinese: 一窝 n
- Arabic: ولادة الحيوان n
- Portuguese: ninhada nf
- Russian: помет nm
- Croatian: okot nm
- Czech: vrh nm
- Danish: kuld nnt
- Dutch: nest nnt
- Finnish: poikue n
- Greek: νεογέννητα ζώα npl
- Italian: cucciolata nf
- Japanese: 動物の一腹子 n
- Korean: 한배의 새끼 n
- Norwegian: kull nnt
- Polish: miot nm
- Brazilian Portuguese: ninhada nf
- European Spanish:
camada
nf
- Swedish: kull nnt
- Thai: ลูกสัตว์ n
- Turkish: yeni doğmuş yavrular n
- Vietnamese: lứa con n
Usage examples
He waved his hand towards the litter of papers strewn on the green carpet.
Thomas, Craig, The Last Raven (1990)It also suggests that retailers should put up litter bins around their premises.
Spiked (2003)The infection can be contracted during pregnancy if a woman cleans a cat litter box, gardens or eats raw eggs or meat.
canada.com (2005)If we really want to tackle city litter , we should put out more big wheelie bins, like the restaurants have.
Liverpool Daily Post and Echo (2002)The carbon has been accumulating as litter in the subarctic for 10,000 years.
Radford, Tim & Leggett, Jeremy, The Crisis of Life on Earth - our legacy from the second millenium (1990)
