Library / English Dictionary

LITTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Material used to provide a bed for animals

Synonyms:

bedding; bedding material; litter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("litter" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("litter" is a kind of...):

conveyance; transport (something that serves as a means of transportation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "litter"):

covered couch (a litter with a cover for privacy)

palankeen; palanquin (a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers)

sedan; sedan chair (a closed litter for one passenger)

stretcher (a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("litter" is a kind of...):

animal group (a group of animals)

Derivation:

litter (give birth to a litter of animals)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("litter" is a kind of...):

rubbish; scrap; trash (worthless material that is to be disposed of)

Derivation:

litter (make a place messy by strewing garbage around)

litter (strew)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Give birth to a litter of animals

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "litter" is one way to...):

bear; birth; deliver; give birth; have (cause to be born)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

litter (the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a place messy by strewing garbage around

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "litter" is one way to...):

straw; strew (spread by scattering ()

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strew

Example:

Cigar butts littered the ground

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "litter" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

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

litterer (a person who litters public places with refuse)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I saw Holmes’s eye darting to right and left among the litter of iron and wood which was scattered about the floor.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I have it,” I cried, and plunged among the litter of papers upon the sofa.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was the one little grey cub of the litter.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He was scratching about among the litter of papers upon his desk.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“They can’t fight here with all this litter,” said my uncle.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Burley lay senseless, stunned by a blow from a mace, and half of the men-at-arms lay littered upon the ground around him.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The A strain has intermediate breeding performance with a high ratio of females at birth and a low litter size at weaning.

(A/J Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)

EXAMPLE(S): flock of ducks, litter of mice, herd of cows

(Biologic Entity Group, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

Pumpkin toadlets, found on the leaf litter of Brazil's Atlantic forest, are among the smallest frogs in the world.

(Tiny Brazilian Frogs Deaf to Own Calls, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Climate change will increase forest cover and change species composition, resulting in a greater variety of leaves and plant litter falling into waterways.

(Climate change could double greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater ecosystems, University of Cambridge)