litter

noun

lit·ter | \ ˈli-tər

Definition of litter

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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.

2a(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

4a : 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

litter

verb

littered; littering; litters

Definition of litter (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : bed sense 1a

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

3a : 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

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Examples of litter in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

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 on the Web: Noun

In the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that disposable foodware makes up two-thirds of the street litter in the bay and the ocean. — Colleen Shalby, latimes.com, "San Francisco law restricts restaurants from offering customers disposable foodware," 12 July 2019 However, there is one potential hitch in her plans: Another person, a board member, also wants to have the pick of this litter with the first interment. — Clarence Williams, chicagotribune.com, "District of Columbia’s first pet cemetery to open at a historic graveyard," 11 July 2019 Which is why all of this social-media nonsense about the Magic possibly acquiring mercurial Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook is nothing but a bunch of Twitter litter. — Mike Bianchi, orlandosentinel.com, "Nikola Vucevic is the anti-Dwight Howard — an all-star who realizes how good he has it in Orlando | Commentary," 8 July 2019 In Hamilton County alone, crews collected 28,167 trash bags full of litter in 2018. — Hannah K. Sparling, Cincinnati.com, "Ohio roads are covered in trash. And it’s a huge waste of money and time.," 8 July 2019 Bottle bills were passed partly in an effort to reduce this kind of litter. — Michael Corkery, New York Times, "Beverage Companies Embrace Recycling, Until It Costs Them," 4 July 2019 In neighborhoods, residents point out needle caps found near playgrounds and piles of litter along bike and pedestrian paths as evidence of problems that arose when more homeless camps moved in. — oregonlive.com, "How a dirty city gets clean: Efforts to clean up Portland’s downtown come together this summer," 2 July 2019 Major was part of a litter that was exposed to toxic chemicals before they were brought to the shelter, but is in fine health now Delaware Online reports. — Heather Timmons, Quartz, "Meet the dogs of the 2020 presidential race," 1 July 2019 Plastic bags are one of the most common types of beach litter. — USA TODAY, "Pride pickup, sphinx on move, Tony Stark’s cabin: News from around our 50 states," 13 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The Colombian center-back had a season littered with fitness issues last year, preventing him from establishing himself as a regular for Everton. — SI.com, "Everton Fantasy Football: Every Toffees Player's Price in 2019/20 Game Revealed," 10 July 2019 But if the Order of Engineers’ estimate is accurate, then about 80,000 to 100,000 unexploded bombs littered the Italian landscape after the war. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Unexploded World War II bombs may still be buried at Pompeii," 8 July 2019 His crew will pick up trash one day, and the next, the very same stretch of highway will be littered anew. — Hannah K. Sparling, Cincinnati.com, "Ohio roads are covered in trash. And it’s a huge waste of money and time.," 8 July 2019 The full list of uncivilized behaviors stretches to spitting, littering, failing to wait in line politely, and taking off your shoes to air out your feet. — Natasha Frost, Quartzy, "Belly-baring Chinese men have been told to cover up in the city of Jinan," 6 July 2019 Ceramic wind bells littered the oil-producing olive trees and Escher-like stairwells of the compound. — Bon Appétit, "A Photo Tour of Arcosanti, the Utopian Oasis in the Arizona Desert," 27 June 2019 Food wrappings were found littered in the rear of the trucks, signaling to police the trucks were used to transport people, per the release. — Rebecca Hennes, Houston Chronicle, "Police: Increase in Liberty County area truck thefts linked to human trafficking, smuggling activity," 25 June 2019 Moreover, the tents are littering South Col, or Camp 4, which, at 8,000 meters (26,240 feet) is the highest campsite on Everest, just below the summit. — Washington Post, "30 tents abandoned by climbers add to trash pile on Everest," 24 June 2019 Limbs littered the gardens in the village of Grabovo, and travel books lay along the roads. — The Economist, "Investigators indict the suspected killers of 298 people on flight MH17," 20 June 2019

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.