LITTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does litter mean? 

• LITTER (noun)
  The noun LITTER has 4 senses:

1. the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal

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

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

4. material used to provide a bed for animals

  Familiarity information: LITTER used as a noun is uncommon.

• LITTER (verb)
  The verb LITTER has 3 senses:

1. strew

2. make a place messy by strewing garbage around

3. give birth to a litter of animals

  Familiarity information: LITTER used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LITTER (noun)

Sense 1

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 2

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)

Sense 3

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 4

Meaning:

Material used to provide a bed for animals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bedding; bedding material; litter

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

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

• LITTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they litter    ... he / she / it litters   
Past simple: littered   
Past participle: littered   
-ing form: littering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Strew

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

Cigar butts littered the ground

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)

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:

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)

 Context examples 

A table in the centre was littered with English magazines and newspapers, though none of them were of very recent date.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

This strain has a average life span of two years and exhibits poor breeding performance and low litter size.

(ACI/Seg, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)

The strain has a low reproductive performance with small litter sizes at birth and weaning.

(AKR/J Mouse, NCI Thesaurus)

He could see only the littered writing-table, the empty space where the type-writer had stood, and the unwashed window-pane.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Don't empty cat litter. Cats can transmit toxoplasmosis.

(Infections and Pregnancy, NIH)

Table and bunk were littered with designs and calculations.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers which Holmes had brought with him.

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

A new model on how stars are formed has added weight to the hypothesis that most – if not all – stars are born in a litter with at least one sibling.

(Our Sun Could Have Been Born With an Evil Twin Called "Nemesis", The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Our Milky Way Galaxy is littered with these stellar relics, called planetary nebulae.

(Hubble Views a Colorful Demise of a Sun-like Star, NASA)

Glutamine group members were also somewhat less aggressive in pens with mixed litters than those given the antibiotic.

(Antibiotic Alternative Scores Well in Second Round of Swine Trials, U.S. Department of Agriculture)