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.
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Noun
An adult cat's bond with a litter of kittens who do not appear to be her own has melted the hearts of viewers on TikTok.—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 May 2025 More than 85% of the plastic found polluting our beaches is made of single-use plastics, and foam pieces are the No. 3 top litter item collected by volunteers.—Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2025
Verb
Not quite a completionist’s dream Speaking of collectibles, DOOM: The Dark Ages litters them throughout levels, and adds even more.—Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025 The rest of the field is littered with smaller-market clubs, with top seed Oklahoma repping a market with 762,700 TV homes, giving the Thunder 40% of the local reach of the Nuggets and Timberwolves.—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 7 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for litter
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French litere, from lit bed, from Latin lectus — more at lie
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