litter

noun lit·ter \ ˈli-tər \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: litter in a Sentence

Definition of litter

1 a : a covered and curtained couch provided with shafts and used for carrying a single passenger

a litter carried on the shoulders of four men
—Edwin Tunis

b : a device (such as a stretcher) for carrying a sick or injured person

The wounded soldier was carried to the rear by litter.

2 a (1) : material used as bedding for animals

Fibrous peat was used as litter for livestock.

(2) : material used to absorb the urine and feces of animals

b : the uppermost slightly decayed layer of organic matter on the forest floor

3 : the offspring at one birth of a multiparous animal

a litter of puppies

4 a : trash, wastepaper, or garbage lying scattered about

trying to clean up the roadside litter

b : an untidy accumulation of objects

a shabby writing-desk covered with a litter of yellowish dusty documents
—Joseph Conrad

—

littery

play \ˈli-tə-rē\ adjective

See litter defined for English-language learners

See litter defined for kids

Examples of litter in a Sentence

We decided to pick up the litter in the park.
Her desk was covered with a litter of legal documents.

Recent Examples of litter from the Web

Kwansei had sent a litter to Nihon University asking for an explanation, while the Kanto College Football Association suspended Miyagawa indefinitely for the hit.

— ryan gaydos, Fox News, "Linebacker implicates coaches after late hit sparks outrage in Japan," 23 May 2018
Some residents of Spokane, Wash. were amused to learn from a newspaper report last week that a local judge had sued his neighbor whose pet cat refused to stop using the judge's back porch as a litter box.

— rick anderson, latimes.com, "Judge sues cat owner, then persuades fellow justice to seal the record," 8 May 2018
After a normal gestation period, the beagle gave birth on Oct. 26 to the litter of five puppies.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "These puppies may be Maryland's first cloned dogs," 2 May 2018
Bush and her president husband, George H.W., occupied the White House, where the big news was their springer spaniel Millie's litter of puppies.

— jim stingl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stingl: In 1989, Barbara Bush granted ailing local boy's wish to meet White House puppies," 19 Apr. 2018
Sometimes, the auctioneer puts one dog up for bid, and other times, a whole litter of puppies will be on the table.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Dog rescuers from Alabama and elsewhere buy animals from breeders they scorn," 13 Apr. 2018
Moskwa also alleged Steuart brought in a cat infected with ringworm into the facility’s kitten coop, resulting in three different litters of kittens getting infected, along with members of the staff and volunteers.

— rené a. guzman, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio Cat Cafe has cats in dire need of care seized by city," 10 Apr. 2018
Side characters include a talking litter box and Steve-O the squirrel.

— monica carnesi, Philly.com, "Free Library spring book picks for kids and teens," 4 Apr. 2018
Around the world, 8 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in oceans every year, comprising 80% of all ocean litter, according to the U.N. Environment Programme.

— eli meixler, Time, "A Pilot Whale Has Died in Southern Thailand After Swallowing 17 Pounds of Plastic Waste," 4 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'litter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of litter

Origin and Etymology of litter

Middle English, from Anglo-French litere, from lit bed, from Latin lectus — more at lie

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

litter Synonyms

Other Vehicles Terms

brougham, hansom, shay, skid, sledge, sulky, wain

litter

verb

Definition of litter

littered; littering; litters

transitive verb

1 : bed 1a

2 : to give birth to a litter of (young)

3 a : to strew with scattered articles

b : to scatter about in disorder

c : to lie about in disorder

their upside-down hats littered the top of the bar
—Michael Chabon

d : to mark with objects scattered at random

a book littered with misprints

intransitive verb

1 : to give birth to a litter

2 : to strew litter

See litter defined for English-language learners

Examples of litter in a Sentence

Paper and popcorn littered the streets after the parade.
a desk littered with old letters and bills
It is illegal to litter.
He had to pay a fine for littering.

Recent Examples of litter from the Web

The whale died Friday after a five-day fight, the country's Department of Marine and Coastal Resources said, becoming the latest high-profile incident of marine life forced to live in oceans littered with human trash.

— alex horton, Washington Post, "No one could save a pilot whale that swallowed 17 pounds of plastic bags off Thailand," 3 June 2018
In the meantime, our op-ed pages are littered with hot takes on tween Instagram stars and podcasts clogged up with denunciations of throwing water.

— mari uyehara, GQ, "What Trump Really Means When He Talks About Migrant Children, MS-13, and "Animals"," 30 May 2018
Most roads into town were blocked by police and littered with broken tree branches and rocks.

— terrell jermaine starr, The Root, "Army National Guardsman Missing After Massive Flooding Hits Ellicott City, Md.," 28 May 2018
Maintenance crews have cleared the parking lot, but the cratered beach and access ways are still littered with pebbles, gravel, big stones, and the occasional boulder.

— johanna seltz, BostonGlobe.com, "State aims to return the beach to Nantasket," 4 May 2018
The company’s social-media accounts are littered with video clips of people snatching packages from porches and going through the mail.

— ryan gillespie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando deal with Ring security gives police broader access to crime-fighting tool," 1 May 2018
Minor league cities across America are littered with ballplayers like Pedro Álvarez was last year, seeking a way back to a big league job that for so long was taken for granted.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Once an afterthought, Orioles' Pedro Álvarez showing signs he's matured into more complete hitter," 21 Apr. 2018
Díaz-Canel, who will turn 58 on Friday, is a survivor in a country whose history books are littered with the names of men who were expected to one day replace the Castros and instead found themselves in internal exile or something worse.

— mimi whitefield and nora gámez torres, miamiherald, "Who is Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba's handpicked president? | Miami Herald," 19 Apr. 2018
These bags avoid littering the landscape and contribute to producing new energy.

— National Geographic, "Danes Use Far Fewer Plastic Bags Than Americans—Here's How," 21 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of litter

see ¹litter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

LITTER Defined for English Language Learners

litter

noun

Definition of litter for English Language Learners

: things that have been thrown away and that are lying on the ground in a public place
: a messy pile or group of things
: dry material that is spread in a container and used as a toilet by animals (especially cats) while they are indoors

litter

verb

Definition of litter for English Language Learners

: to cover (a surface) with many things in an untidy way
: to throw or leave trash on the ground in a public place

LITTER Defined for Kids

litter

noun lit·ter \ ˈli-tər \

Definition of litter for Students

1 : the young born to an animal at a single time

a litter of pigs

2 : a messy collection of things scattered about : trash We picked up the litter in our neighborhood.

3 : material used to soak up the urine and feces of animals

4 : a covered and curtained couch having poles and used for carrying a single passenger

5 : a stretcher for carrying a sick or wounded person

History for litter

The different meanings of the word litter all grew out of the basic notion “bed.” In Old French, litiere, a derivative of lit, “bed,” could refer to a sleeping place in a general way, but it was more typically applied to either a curtained portable couch, or to straw spread on the ground as a sleeping place for animals. In borrowing the word, English kept both usages and added new ones. The “bedding for animals” sense was extended to the offspring of an animal such as a dog. In a different direction, litter became not just straw for animal bedding, but straw or similar material spread around for any purpose, and by the 1700s any odds and ends of rubbish lying scattered about.