Definitions for litter
ˈlɪt ərlit·ter

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 3 votes

1. litternoun

   the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal

2. litternoun

   rubbish carelessly dropped or left about (especially in public places)

3. litternoun

   conveyance consisting of a chair or bed carried on two poles by bearers

4. bedding material, bedding, litterverb

   material used to provide a bed for animals

5. litterverb

   strew

   "Cigar butts littered the ground"

6. litterverb

   make a place messy by strewing garbage around

7. litterverb

   give birth to a litter of animals

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. litternoun

   A platform mounted on two shafts, or a more elaborate construction, designed to be carried by two (or more) people to transport one (in luxury models sometimes more) third person(s) or (occasionally in the elaborate version) a cargo, such as a religious idol.

2. litternoun

   The offspring of a mammal born in one birth.

3. litternoun

   Material used as bedding for animals.

4. litternoun

   Collectively, items discarded on the ground.

5. litternoun

   Absorbent material used in an animal's litter tray

6. litternoun

   Layer of fallen leaves and similar organic matter in a forest floor.

7. litterverb

   To drop or throw trash without properly disposing of it (as discarding in public areas rather than trash receptacles).

8. litterverb

   To give birth to, used of animals.

9. litterverb

   To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter.

10. litterverb

    To produce a litter of young.

11. Etymology: From litière, from lit, ‘bed’, from lectus; confer Greek λέκτρον. Had the sense ‘bed’ in very early English, but then came to mean ‘portable couch’, ‘bedding’, ‘strewn rushes (for animals)’,...

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LITTERnoun

   Etymology: litiere, French.

   1. A kind of vehiculary bed; a carriage capable of containing a bed hung between two horses.

   To my litter strait;
   Weakness possesseth me. William Shakespeare, King John.

   He was carried in a rich chariot litterwise, with two horses at each end. Francis Bacon, New Atlantis.

   The drowsy frighted steeds,
   That draw the litter of close curtain’d sleep. John Milton.

   Here modest matrons in soft litters driv’n,
   In solemn pomp appear. John Dryden, Æn.

   Litters thick besiege the donor’s gate,
   And begging lords and teeming ladies wait
   The promis’d dole. John Dryden, Juvenal.

   2. The straw laid under animals, or on plants.

   To crouch in litter of your stable planks. William Shakespeare.

   Take off the litter from your kernel beds. John Evelyn.

   Their litter is not toss’d by sows unclean. John Dryden, Virg.

   3. A brood of young.

   I do here walk before thee like a sow that hath overwhelmed all her litter but one. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

   Reflect upon that numerous litter of strange, senseless opinions, that crawl about the world. Robert South, Serm.

   A wolf came to a sow, and very kindly offered to take care of her litter. Roger L'Estrange, Fables.

   Full many a year his hateful head had been
   For tribute paid, nor since in Cambria seen:
   The last of all the litter ’scap’d by chance,
   And from Geneva first infested France. Dryden.

   4. Any number of things thrown sluttishly about.

   Strephon, who found the room was void,
   Stole in, and took a strict survey
   Of all the litter as it lay. Jonathan Swift.

   5. A birth of animals.

   Fruitful as the sow that carry’d
   The thirty pigs at one large litter farrow’d. John Dryden, Juv.

2. To Litterverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To bring forth: used of beasts, or of human beings in abhorrence or contempt.

   Then was this iland,
   Save for the son that she did litter here,
   A freckled whelp, hag-born, not honour’d with
   A human shape. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   My father named me Auctolicus, being littered under Mercury, who, as I am, was likewise a snapper up of unconsidered trifles. William Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale.

   The whelps of bears are, at first littering, without all form or fashion. George Hakewill, on Providence.

   We might conceive that dogs were created blind, because we observe they were littered so with us. Brown.

   2. To cover with things negligently, or sluttishly scattered about.

   They found
   The room with volumes litter’d round. Jonathan Swift.

   3. To cover with straw.

   He found a stall where oxen stood,
   But for his ease well litter’d was the floor. Dryden.

   4. To supply cattle with bedding.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Litter

   Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles on the ground, and leave them there indefinitely or for other people to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them correctly. Large and hazardous items of rubbish such as tires, electrical appliances, electronics, batteries and large industrial containers are sometimes dumped in isolated locations, such as national forests and other public lands. It is a human impact on the environment and remains a serious environmental problem in many countries. Litter can exist in the environment for long periods of time before decomposition and be transported over large distances into the world's oceans. Litter can affect the quality of life. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded each year. Estimates on the required time for cigarette butts to break down vary, ranging from five years to 400 years for complete degradation.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. litter

   Litter generally refers to waste products such as paper, cans, and bottles, that have been disposed of improperly, typically in outdoor public areas. It can also refer to a group of young animals born to a particular mother at the same time, such as puppies or kittens. Additionally, in the context of bedding material or absorbent substances used in animal cages or trays, it's referred to as litter.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Litternoun

   a bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried in or upon it

2. Litternoun

   straw, hay, etc., scattered on a floor, as bedding for animals to rest on; also, a covering of straw for plants

3. Litternoun

   things lying scattered about in a manner indicating slovenliness; scattered rubbish

4. Litternoun

   disorder or untidiness resulting from scattered rubbish, or from thongs lying about uncared for; as, a room in a state of litter

5. Litternoun

   the young brought forth at one time, by a sow or other multiparous animal, taken collectively. Also Fig

6. Litterverb

   to supply with litter, as cattle; to cover with litter, as the floor of a stall

7. Litterverb

   to put into a confused or disordered condition; to strew with scattered articles; as, to litter a room

8. Litterverb

   to give birth to; to bear; -- said of brutes, esp. those which produce more than one at a birth, and also of human beings, in abhorrence or contempt

9. Litterverb

   to be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter

10. Litterverb

    to produce a litter

11. Etymology: [F. litire, LL. lectaria, fr. L. lectus couch, bed. See Lie to be prostrated, and cf. Coverlet.]

WikidataRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Litter

   Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, in an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw objects onto the ground and leave them as opposed to disposing of them properly. Larger hazardous items such as tires, appliances, electronics and large industrial containers are often dumped in isolated locations, such as National Forests and other public land. It is a human impact on the environment and is a serious environmental issue in many countries. Litter can exist in the environment for long periods of time before degrading and be transported large distances into the world's oceans. Litter can affect quality of life. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded annually. Cigarette butts can take up to five years to completely break down. Statistics in 2003 showed metal/aluminum drink cans as the least littered item.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Litter

   lit′ėr, n. a heap of straw, &c., for animals to lie upon: materials for a bed: any scattered collection of objects, esp. of little value: a vehicle containing a bed for carrying about, a hospital stretcher: a brood of small quadrupeds.—v.t. to cover or supply with litter: to scatter carelessly about: to give birth to (said of small animals).—v.i. to produce a litter or brood.—p.adj. Litt′ered. [O. Fr. litiere—Low L. lectaria—L. lectus, a bed.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. litter

   A basket or frame utilized for the transport of injured persons.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. litter

   A sort of hurdle bed, on which to carry wounded men from the field to the boats.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. litter

   (Lat. lectica, from lectus, “bed”). According to Rees’s Cyclopædia, a kind of vehicle borne upon shafts, anciently esteemed the most easy and genteel way of carriage. It was much in use among the Romans, among whom it was borne by slaves kept for that purpose, as it still continues to be in the East, where it is called a palanquin. The invention of litters, according to Cicero, was owing to the kings of Bithynia. In the time of Tiberius they had become very frequent at Rome, as appears from Seneca. Horse-litters were much used in Europe prior to the introduction of coaches. In the military service the litter is a species of hurdle bed, on which the wounded are sometimes carried from the field of battle. What is known as the hand-litter or stretcher is used to carry men from where they fall in battle to field hospitals. The hand-litter or stretcher is generally constructed with canvas about 61⁄2 feet long by 3 feet wide, the sides securely fastened to two hard-wood poles about 8 feet in length; the two cross-pieces should be constructed so that the litter can be rolled up. Small outlying bodies of troops, especially detachments of cavalry, are not always provided with them; for these the hand-litter, made with guns and blankets, has been extemporized; for this purpose the edges of the blanket are rolled over the guns, and tied firmly with twine, and two stout sticks are also tied across at the head and foot, serving as handles for the bearers. This being laid on the ground, the wounded man is placed upon it, with his knapsack under his head. The Indian litter is made by taking two stout saplings, and attaching to them three cross-pieces, about 21⁄2 or 3 feet apart, by cords and notches; the sick or wounded man being placed on his blanket, this frame-work is placed over him, and the blanket knotted to it. By three bent twigs and an additional blanket, a kind of top can be made to this in case of a storm. Several kinds of horse or mule litters for frontier service have been invented, but none seem so well adapted for all purposes as the one invented by Surgeon J. C. Baily, U.S.A. Ambulance litters are so constructed as to be drawn from the ambulance and taken to the wounded man, who is by it conveyed to the vehicle. It is then slid into place on rollers, and steadied by loops and guys.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LITTER

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Litter is ranked #142108 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Litter surname appeared 117 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Litter.
   
   88.8% or 104 total occurrences were White.
   4.2% or 5 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

Matched Categories

1. • Animal Group
   • Be
   • Conveyance
   • Give Birth
   • Rubbish
   • Strew

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. 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Anagrams for litter »

1. tilter

2. titler

How to pronounce litter?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say litter in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of litter in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of litter in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of litter in a Sentence

1. Sandy Shelby:

   There was no air conditioning. There was no water in any of the water buckets. The litter boxes had zero litter. It was just feces that was in them. Police and animal control officials initially received a call from neighbors complaining about the smell coming from the home. When they first arrived, authorities told FOX4 they found a van in the driveway filled with dogs. When officials arrived they said they found a van filled with dogs. ( FOX4 News) The van was not running. The windows were rolled up and just cracked a tiny little bit, there were 14 crates full of animals inside. Sandy Shelby said authorities are investigating whether the homeowner got the animals from various shelters with the intention of rescuing them. I think that people start out with good intentions, I really do.

2. John Griffin:

   Only half the groundhogs from any litter survive, and they disperse. They find other territories and they're on the move and they're a prey animal so it's rough out there for them. A lot of times, we get calls not because there's an actual conflict but because when someone sees a groundhog, they're like 'Oh, I've got a problem.'.

3. Musa Bukar:

   Dead bodies litter the bushes in the area and it is still no?t safe to go and pick them (up) for burial, some people who hid in their homes were burned alive.

4. Adrienne Crosier:

   Seeing Rosalie successfully care for this litter -- her first -- with confidence is very rewarding.

5. Henry David Thoreau:

   What men call good fellowship is commonly but the virtue of pigs in a litter which lie close together to keep each other warm.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=litter
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Litter
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=litter
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/litter
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=litter
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=litter
9. ^ Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
   https://www.tradoc.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AD1029823-DOD-Dictionary-of-Military-and-Associated-Terms-2017.pdf
10. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=litter
11. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
12. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html
13. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=litter