litter
noun /ˈlɪtə(r)/
/ˈlɪtər/
- [uncountable] small pieces of rubbish such as paper, cans and bottles, that people have left lying in a public place
- There will be fines for people who drop litter.
Extra Examples- Please do not leave litter after your picnic.
- Pick up your litter and take it home with you.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary… of litter- pile
- drop
- leave
- clean up
- …
- be strewn
- basket
- bin
- lout
- …
- [singular] litter of something a number of things that are lying in an untidy way
- The floor was covered with a litter of newspapers, clothes and empty cups.
- [uncountable] a dry substance that is put in a shallow open box for pets, especially cats, to use as a toilet when they are indoors
- cat litter
- (also especially North American English) kitty litter
- (British English) a litter tray
- (North American English) a litter box
- [countable] a number of baby animals that one mother gives birth to at the same time
- a litter of puppies
- the runt (= the smallest and weakest baby) of the litter
- ‘Chief’ was born six years ago, one of a litter of 11.
- [uncountable] the substance, especially straw, that is used for farm animals to sleep on
- [countable] a kind of chair or bed that was used in the past for carrying important people
Word OriginMiddle English (originally referring to a structure used to carry people carried on men's shoulders or by animals): from Old French litiere, from medieval Latin lectaria, from Latin lectus ‘bed’. Senses 1 and 2 date from the mid 18th cent.