Illustration of litter
- litter 1a
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
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
Joseph Conrad
littered; littering; litters
1
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
Michael Chabon
d
: to mark with objects scattered at random
a book littered with misprints
Synonyms
Noun
- agglomerate
- agglomeration
- alphabet soup
- assortment
- botch
- clutter
- collage
- crazy quilt
- farrago
- gallimaufry
- grab bag
- gumbo
- hash
- hodgepodge
- hotchpotch
- jambalaya
- jumble
- jungle
- 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 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 WebSusanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Great Indy Cleanup at Crown Hill, 9 a.m. at 767 W 32nd St.: Help tackle litter at this large focus cleanup event.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
Then head out to collect litter at a park or neighborhood of choice.
—Molly Guthrey, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2024
Yet, high-tech has come even to the task of removing litter.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024
The fire department also shared photos of the kitten quartet, including a shot of where the little litter was found.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Each mother never left her litter, not even to feed, and the hatchlings wriggled around on her back and nuzzled up to the end of her body.
—Sofia Quaglia, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Ten have successfully produced litters in the wild, contributing their genetics to the population.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024
That could look like walking or biking to school, throwing out litter or choosing to recycle.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
The ranks of journalists in professional newsrooms has dropped precipitously, and failed news organizations litter the landscape.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
Ostensibly taking place in New Jersey, the film more accurately resides in a make-believe littered with random pop-culture references and reckless genre transitions.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Because of the need for trains to roll relatively slowly through Los Angeles traffic, the train tracks through that area are littered with the debris of a million package thefts.
—Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2024
The yellow lids keep the recycling dry and prevent paper, aluminum and plastic from flying around and littering the streets and sidewalks.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Examples of this are littered everywhere in the NFL.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2024
But the narrow passageway from talent competition to bonafide star is littered with artists who never successfully made that transition.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 4 Apr. 2024
My old office, meanwhile, was littered with dozens of boxes that had been brought up from A.M.I.’s offices in Boca Raton, Fla.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
However, other more common pathogens are also found in poultry litter.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Great Indy Cleanup at Crown Hill, 9 a.m. at 767 W 32nd St.: Help tackle litter at this large focus cleanup event.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
Then head out to collect litter at a park or neighborhood of choice.
—Molly Guthrey, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2024
Yet, high-tech has come even to the task of removing litter.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024
The fire department also shared photos of the kitten quartet, including a shot of where the little litter was found.
—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
Each mother never left her litter, not even to feed, and the hatchlings wriggled around on her back and nuzzled up to the end of her body.
—Sofia Quaglia, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Ten have successfully produced litters in the wild, contributing their genetics to the population.
—Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024
That could look like walking or biking to school, throwing out litter or choosing to recycle.
—Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024
Verb
The lead-up to release day has been littered with puzzles, Easter eggs and other hallmarks of Swift’s ever-theorizing fan base.
—Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
The ranks of journalists in professional newsrooms has dropped precipitously, and failed news organizations litter the landscape.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
Ostensibly taking place in New Jersey, the film more accurately resides in a make-believe littered with random pop-culture references and reckless genre transitions.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Because of the need for trains to roll relatively slowly through Los Angeles traffic, the train tracks through that area are littered with the debris of a million package thefts.
—Bradley Brownell / Jalopnik, Quartz, 23 Mar. 2024
The yellow lids keep the recycling dry and prevent paper, aluminum and plastic from flying around and littering the streets and sidewalks.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Examples of this are littered everywhere in the NFL.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2024
But the narrow passageway from talent competition to bonafide star is littered with artists who never successfully made that transition.
—Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 4 Apr. 2024
My old office, meanwhile, was littered with dozens of boxes that had been brought up from A.M.I.’s offices in Boca Raton, Fla.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'litter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to litter
Dictionary Entries Near litter
Cite this Entry
“Litter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/litter. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
litter
1 of 2 noun
lit·ter
ˈlit-ər 
1
a
: a covered and curtained couch with poles to use for handles that is used for carrying a single passenger
b
: a device (as a stretcher) for carrying a sick or injured person
2
: material spread in areas where farm animals (as cows or chickens) are kept especially to absorb their urine and feces
3
: the young born to an animal at a single time
a litter of puppies
4
: a messy collection of things scattered about : rubbish
litter
2 of 2 verb1
: to give birth to young
2
a
: to cover with litter
b
: to scatter about in disorder
c
: to lie about in disorder
Medical Definition
litter
1 of 2 noun
lit·ter
ˈlit-ər
1
: a device (as a stretcher) for carrying a sick or injured person
2
: the offspring at one birth of a multiparous animal
litter
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to give birth to a litter of (young)
: to give birth to a litter
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share