cluttered; cluttering; clutters
chiefly dialectal
: to run in disorder
: to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness
a room cluttered with toys
—often used with upToo many signs were cluttering up the street corner.
1
a
: a crowded or confused mass or collection
a clutter of motels and restaurants
b
: things that clutter a place
tried to minimize the unnecessary clutter in her house
2
: interfering radar echoes caused by reflection from objects (as on the ground) other than the target
3
chiefly dialectal
: disturbance, hubbub
Synonyms
Noun
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- litter
- macédoine
- medley
- mélange
- menagerie
- miscellanea
- miscellany
- mishmash
- mixed bag
- montage
- motley
- muddle
- olio
- olla podrida
- omnium-gatherum
- pastiche
- patchwork
- patchwork quilt
- potpourri
- ragbag
- ragout
- rummage
- salad
- salmagundi
- scramble
- shuffle
- smorgasbord
- stew
- tumble
- variety
- welter
Examples of clutter in a Sentence
Verb
The garage was cluttered with tools.
Try to avoid cluttering your desk with books and papers.
Noun
There's a lot of unnecessary clutter in the house.
a scrapbook that was a clutter of snapshots, diary entries, letters, and newspaper clippings
Recent Examples on the Web
Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 21 Mar. 2024
In general, large-scale accessories will offer a bigger impact without cluttering up the space.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2024
The shades of blue cluttering your eye shadow palette are, in one regard, capitalism doing its thing.
—Emily Leibert, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
With little warning, the clouds cluttering the horizon start to vanish before your eyes.
—Ayurella Horn-Muller, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Petitions were swiftly launched and cluttered with names.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024
The more information that's added to a graphic, the greater potential to clutter the message, Rhome said.
—USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024
That day at MoMA, Jonas and Janevski were talking in the museum’s model room, where doll-size configurations of exhibits are imagined, and maquettes of the museum’s various spaces, each for a different forthcoming show, clutter the tables.
—Susan Dominus Emiliano Granado, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
The terrain is wild and dusty, with no people or shacks cluttering the panoramas.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024
Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The play follows a trio of siblings (Paulson, Stoll and Esper) who return to their father's Arkansas house after his death to handle the remains of his estate, and discover mysterious objects among the clutter.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Also, there’s a very clear need to cut through the clutter.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Fewer reporters mean the quality of personal relationships is more important than ever, and pitches, messaging and story angles must be more compelling to break through the clutter of a reporter’s inbox.
—Jennifer Acree, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
These sleek appliances reduce clutter and shore up more space for meal prep.
—Deanne Revel, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Feb. 2024
Plus, cleaning up a farm is so much faster when multiple axes and scythes are chopping away at the clutter.
—Nena Farrell, WIRED, 22 Mar. 2024
Lemaire has a point: Studies suggest that clutter can have a major impact on a person’s stress levels, ability to focus, and, of course, sleep.
—Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
Here's what Parents editors and writers are using to combat the clutter and regain some peace of mind this season—starting at $9.
—Parents Editors, Parents, 4 Mar. 2024
Verb
Doing so without cluttering your home or office's aesthetic can also be tricky.
—Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 21 Mar. 2024
In general, large-scale accessories will offer a bigger impact without cluttering up the space.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2024
The shades of blue cluttering your eye shadow palette are, in one regard, capitalism doing its thing.
—Emily Leibert, Allure, 25 Jan. 2024
With little warning, the clouds cluttering the horizon start to vanish before your eyes.
—Ayurella Horn-Muller, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Petitions were swiftly launched and cluttered with names.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024
The more information that's added to a graphic, the greater potential to clutter the message, Rhome said.
—USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024
That day at MoMA, Jonas and Janevski were talking in the museum’s model room, where doll-size configurations of exhibits are imagined, and maquettes of the museum’s various spaces, each for a different forthcoming show, clutter the tables.
—Susan Dominus Emiliano Granado, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
The terrain is wild and dusty, with no people or shacks cluttering the panoramas.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
Related Articles For me, this time of year is an opportunity to clean out the physical and electronic financial clutter in life, and to attend to some important to-dos.
—Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The play follows a trio of siblings (Paulson, Stoll and Esper) who return to their father's Arkansas house after his death to handle the remains of his estate, and discover mysterious objects among the clutter.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Also, there’s a very clear need to cut through the clutter.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Fewer reporters mean the quality of personal relationships is more important than ever, and pitches, messaging and story angles must be more compelling to break through the clutter of a reporter’s inbox.
—Jennifer Acree, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
These sleek appliances reduce clutter and shore up more space for meal prep.
—Deanne Revel, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Feb. 2024
Plus, cleaning up a farm is so much faster when multiple axes and scythes are chopping away at the clutter.
—Nena Farrell, WIRED, 22 Mar. 2024
Lemaire has a point: Studies suggest that clutter can have a major impact on a person’s stress levels, ability to focus, and, of course, sleep.
—Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024
Here's what Parents editors and writers are using to combat the clutter and regain some peace of mind this season—starting at $9.
—Parents Editors, Parents, 4 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clutter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English clotteren to clot, from clot
First Known Use
Verb
1556, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near clutter
Cite this Entry
“Clutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clutter. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
clutter
1 of 2 verb
clut·ter
ˈklət-ər 
: to fill or cover with a disorderly scattering of things
clutter up a room
clutter
2 of 2 noun
: a crowded or confused collection
More from Merriam-Webster on clutter
Nglish: Translation of clutter for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of clutter for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about clutter
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