I. lit ‧ ter 1 /ˈlɪtə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: litiere , from lit 'bed' ]
1 . WASTE [uncountable] waste paper, cans etc that people have thrown away and left on the ground in a public place SYN rubbish , trash , garbage :
People who drop litter can be fined in some cities.
a town with a litter problem
GRAMMAR
Litter is an uncountable noun and has no plural form. Use a singular verb after it:
▪
Litter spoils the countryside.
2 . BABY ANIMALS [countable] a group of baby animals that a mother gives birth to at the same time
litter of
a litter of kittens
3 . FOR CAT’S TOILET [uncountable] small grains of a dry substance that is put in a container that a cat uses as a toilet indoors:
cat litter
a litter tray
4 . FOREST [uncountable] ( also leaf litter ) dead leaves and other decaying plants on the ground in a forest
5 . a litter of something literary a group of things that look very untidy:
A litter of notes, papers, and textbooks were strewn on the desk.
6 . FOR ANIMAL’S BED [uncountable] a substance such as ↑ straw that a farm animal sleeps on
7 . BED [countable] a chair or bed for carrying important people, used in past times
II. litter 2 BrE AmE verb
1 . [transitive] ( also litter up ) if things litter an area, there are a lot of them in that place, scattered in an untidy way:
Clothes littered the floor.
litter something with something
The desk was littered with papers.
2 . be littered with something if something is littered with things, there are a lot of those things in it SYN be full of something :
Recent business news has been littered with stories of companies failing.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] to leave waste paper, cans etc on the ground in a public place
4 . [intransitive] technical if an animal such as a dog or cat litters, it gives birth to babies