Meaning & use
litter
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Meanings
noununcountable
Waste or discarded items left lying in an open or public place.
Grammar: Uncountable; no plural form. Use 'a piece of litter' for one item.
Patterns
- litter on something
- drop litter
- pick up litter
The park was covered in litter after the festival.
Please don't drop litter on the street.
Volunteers spent the morning picking up litter from the beach.
nouncountable
A group of young animals born to the same mother at one time.
Grammar: Countable; often used with 'a' or numbers: a litter of puppies.
Patterns
- a litter of something
- have a litter
Our cat had a litter of four kittens.
The dog rejected the smallest puppy in the litter.
A litter of foxes was found near the woods.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To drop waste carelessly in a place, making it untidy.
Grammar: Can take an object (litter the streets) or be used without one (people who litter).
Patterns
- litter something
- litter in something
People who litter in the park should be fined.
The fans littered the stadium with plastic cups.
Don't litter; use the bins provided.
nouncountableold-fashioned
A frame or stretcher for carrying a sick or injured person.
Grammar: Countable; often used in historical or military contexts.
Patterns
- on a litter
- carry someone on a litter
The wounded soldier was carried on a litter to the medical tent.
In ancient times, the wealthy were transported by litter.
Word forms
| plural | litters |
|---|---|
| third person singular | litters |
| past tense | littered |
| past participle | littered |
| -ing form | littering |
Common combinations
- litter bin
- Please throw your rubbish in the litter bin.
- litter lout
- Litter louts make the beach unpleasant for everyone.
- drop litter
- It is illegal to drop litter in this city.
- litter tray
- The cat's litter tray needs cleaning.
- a litter of puppies
- She sold the whole litter of puppies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rubbish
- Rubbish is a general term for waste; litter specifically means waste left in public places.
- garbage
- Garbage is household waste; litter is scattered waste in open areas.
- trash
- Trash is similar to garbage; litter emphasizes careless dropping in public.
- debris
- Debris refers to scattered fragments or ruins; litter is typically smaller, everyday waste.
Word family
Commonly confused: litter or litter?
litter vs litter
Not to be confused with 'liter' (a unit of volume) or 'litter' as a group of animals.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Litter meaning waste is uncountable, so it has no plural and does not take 'a' or 'the' in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “litter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.