litter
litter — noun
1. waste material such as empty drinks containers, food wrappers, and cigarette end
waste material such as empty drinks containers, food wrappers, and cigarette ends that people drop and leave on streets or in parks rather than putting in a bin.
Tomás picked up the litter left by careless visitors to the park.
pick up litter
The city council installed more bins to reduce litter on main streets.
After the concert, volunteers filled several bags with litter from the stadium.
Litter blowing across the beach made it an unpleasant place for families.
Élise was upset to see litter floating in the river near her apartment.
litter floating in water
- pick up litter
- drop litter
- litter on the streets
- cigarette litter
- litter problem
Usage Note
Often appears on public signs and anti-littering campaigns. In American English, the material itself is often called 'trash' or 'garbage', but 'litter' is still used for waste that has been dropped carelessly outdoors.
Common Mistakes
2. the group of babies that a female animal gives birth to in a single birth, espec
the group of babies that a female animal gives birth to in a single birth, especially for mammals such as dogs, cats, pigs, or rabbits.
The farmer's dog gave birth to a litter of six healthy puppies last night.
a litter of [animal babies]
Hiro chose the smallest kitten from the litter and took it home that evening.
A mother pig will feed her entire litter several times during the day.
feed her entire litter
The vet weighed each puppy in the litter to check their health.
- a litter of puppies
- a litter of kittens
- a litter of piglets
- give birth to a litter
- the whole litter
Usage Note
Used for animals that typically give birth to multiple offspring at once. Not used for animals that usually have single births such as cows, horses, or humans.
Common Mistakes
3. soft, dry plant material such as straw or hay that is spread on the floor of a s
soft, dry plant material such as straw or hay that is spread on the floor of a stable, hutch, or coop for animals to sleep or rest on.
The stable hands spread fresh straw litter in the horse stalls each morning.
spread fresh straw litter
Rabbits need clean, dry litter in their hutches to stay warm and healthy.
Yuki changed the soiled litter in the chicken coop every few days.
Cole bought a fresh bale of straw to use as litter for the goats.
- fresh litter
- straw litter
- change the litter
- clean litter
- dry litter
Usage Note
Older sense from which the other meanings of 'litter' historically developed. In modern use, 'bedding' is more common for this meaning among pet owners.
4. dry, grain-like material sold in bags, placed inside a shallow box so that pet c
dry, grain-like material sold in bags, placed inside a shallow box so that pet cats and other small animals can go to the toilet indoors.
Diya scooped the used litter from the cat's box and threw it in the bin.
scoop the litter / cat's litter box
The pet store sells a special litter that absorbs moisture and controls smell.
Selim taught his kitten to use the litter box from the very first day.
use the litter box
Some brands of cat litter are made from recycled paper or wood fibres.
- cat litter
- litter box
- litter tray
- clumping litter
- scoop the litter
- change the litter
Usage Note
Almost always used in compound forms: 'cat litter', 'litter box', or 'litter tray'. The material itself is sold in bags specifically labelled as cat litter.
Common Mistakes
5. a messy group of objects that are lying around without any order in a room, on a
a messy group of objects that are lying around without any order in a room, on a surface, or in a space.
A litter of old newspapers and empty cups covered the teenager's desk.
a litter of [objects]
Ritu cleared the litter of cables and phone chargers from the living room floor.
On the workbench lay a litter of screws, nails, and wood shavings.
A litter of art supplies spread across the entire studio floor.
- a litter of papers
- a litter of toys
- clear the litter
- lie in a litter
Usage Note
Similar to sense 1 but refers to any messy collection of objects, not just waste material. Can be used for indoor spaces and non-waste items.
6. a seat with a cover, carried on poles by people walking, used in past centuries
a seat with a cover, carried on poles by people walking, used in past centuries to move wealthy or important persons from one place to another.
In ancient China, officials were carried through the streets in a silk-covered litter.
carried in a litter
The museum displayed a beautifully carved wooden litter from the seventeenth century.
Four servants lifted the royal litter onto their shoulders and began walking steadily.
The queen refused to walk and insisted on being carried in her litter.
- carried in a litter
- royal litter
- covered litter
- silk-lined litter
- poles of the litter
- sedan chair
a specific type of enclosed litter for one person, common in European history
- palanquin
an Asian type of covered litter carried by four or six bearers
Usage Note
This historical sense survives mainly in museum descriptions, historical novels, and travel writing about traditional cultures.
litter — verb
1. to leave waste lying on streets, in parks, or in other public spaces instead of
to leave waste lying on streets, in parks, or in other public spaces instead of disposing of it correctly in a bin.
Please do not litter — put your empty bottle in the recycling bin provided.
litter — imperative / 'do not litter'
Maeve was fined one hundred dollars for littering in the national park.
fined for littering
A sign at the park entrance warned visitors not to litter on the trails.
Littering the beach with cigarette ends and plastic bags harms wildlife.
- no littering
- fine for littering
- litter the streets
- caught littering
- litter in public
- scatter rubbish
more descriptive and less common in signage
- drop litter
verb + noun phrase rather than a single verb
- clean up
to remove waste and restore tidiness to an area
Grammar Patterns
litter + [place]
No littering
Usage Note
Very common in negative imperatives and public signage ('No littering', 'Do not litter'). Can be used transitively ('litter the park') or intransitively ('Anyone caught littering' = dropping waste generally).
Common Mistakes
2. to cover a surface or area in an untidy way by having many objects scattered acr
to cover a surface or area in an untidy way by having many objects scattered across it.
Empty cans and bottles littered the pavement after the street party ended.
Old books and papers littered every surface in the professor's small office.
litter every surface
Dead leaves littered the garden path after the autumn storm passed through.
Christopher's clothes littered the bedroom floor despite his mother's complaints.
- litter the floor
- litter the ground
- litter the streets
- litter the desk
- tidy
to make something neat by putting things in their proper place
Grammar Patterns
litter + [place/area]
Usage Note
The subject of the verb is the objects that are scattered, and the object is the place that gets covered. For example: 'Papers littered the floor' (papers are the subject, floor is the object).
Common Mistakes
3. if a place, written work, or other thing is littered with items, it contains or
if a place, written work, or other thing is littered with items, it contains or is covered by a large number of them — often suggesting that there are too many or that they are a problem.
The student's essay was littered with spelling mistakes and unclear arguments.
be littered with mistakes
Tamar's desk was littered with half-finished projects and coffee cups.
The old stone walls are littered with ancient carvings left by travellers centuries ago.
littered with carvings/inscriptions
The garden was littered with fallen apples after the heavy wind passed through.
- littered with mistakes
- littered with errors
- littered with details
- littered with ideas
- filled with
neutral quantity; 'littered with' adds negative judgement of excess or disorder
- covered with
more literal — 'littered with' suggests many small items spread over a surface
Grammar Patterns
be littered with + [things]
Usage Note
Almost always used in the passive form 'be littered with'. The active form ('Mistakes littered the essay') is possible but much less common. Used metaphorically for ideas, errors, details, or features.
4. when a female mammal gives birth to a group of babies at one time.
when a female mammal gives birth to a group of babies at one time.
The neighbour's Labrador littered last night and produced eight healthy puppies.
litter (intransitive) — give birth
Our cat usually litters twice a year, each time with four or five kittens.
The sow littered twelve piglets early in the morning on the farm.
litter + [number] + [young] (transitive)
The breeder's spaniel has just littered for the first time at age three.
- litter puppies
- litter kittens
- litter piglets
- litter twice a year
- give birth
general term for any animal or human; 'litter' is specific to delivering multiple young at once
Grammar Patterns
litter + [number] + [young]
litter (intransitive)
Usage Note
Primarily used by breeders, vets, and pet owners. Less common in everyday speech than 'give birth to a litter of...'.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- litterernounC1
- litteringnounB2
- litterbugnounB2
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
All four words describe unwanted material, but 'litter' (noun/1) is the only one specifically about waste that has been dropped or left on the ground in a public place. 'Rubbish' (British) and 'trash' / 'garbage' (American) are more general terms for any discarded household or commercial material — they stay in bins, not on the street. 'Waste' is the most formal and broadest term, covering everything from factory by-products to food scraps. If you drop a drinks can in the park, it becomes 'litter'. If that same can is in your kitchen bin, it is 'rubbish' or 'trash'. On public signs you will see 'litter' ('Do not litter'), not 'Do not rubbish', because it is the act of dropping, not the material type, that matters.
Common collocations
Etymology
Comes from Latin 'lectus' (bed), via Old French 'litiere' (bed, bedding of straw). The original meaning was animal bedding — dried plant material spread on the floor for creatures to sleep on. From that came the idea of a portable bed or chair carried on poles (a 'litter' for travelling nobles). The sense of 'disorderly scattered objects' developed because bedding straw gets thrown around, and later narrowed to 'waste dropped in public places'.