litter

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.

   • Quen he had made me hale and fere
   • As pelows ben to chambres agreable So is harde strawe lytter for the stable.
   • To place daily under those Animals... a sufficient quantity of fresh New Straw, well spread, which is call'd making of Litter.
2. 2

   A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human…

   A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human shoulders or animal backs.

   • ... In a lytter made tho full royall...
   • Glou. There is a Litter ready, lay him in't, And driue toward Douer friend...
3. 3

   Synonym of straw, grass, etc. more generally, particularly in plaster, thatch, and mulch.

4. ›+ 14 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      An act of giving birth to a number of live young at the same time.

      • Let new planted Elms be kept moist by frequent refreſhings upon ſome half-rotten Fern, or Litter laid about the foot of the ſtem...
   2. 5

      The whole group of live young born at the same time, typically in reference to mammals or…

      The whole group of live young born at the same time, typically in reference to mammals or (figurative, derogatory) unpleasant people or objects.

      • A Wolf came to a Sow, and very Kindly Offer'd to take care of her Litter.
      • Strongly-marked differences occasionally appear in the young of the same litter.
      • When a man had married into a family where there was a whole litter of women, he might have plenty to put up with if he choose.
   3. 6

      Waste or debris, originally any mess but now particularly trash left or thrown on the…

      Waste or debris, originally any mess but now particularly trash left or thrown on the ground.

      • Near-synonyms: garbage; see also Thesaurus:trash
      • What are you doing?! There's a litter bin not three feet away.
      • Strephon, who found the room was void And Betty otherwise employed, Stole in and took a strict survey Of all the litter as it lay....
   4. 7

      A bed, a substrate formed from loose materials.

      • Having first made a litter of shingles, planks or billets, with a layer of charcoal powder several inches in thickness...
   5. 8

      The layer of fallen leaves and other loose organic material on the ground in a forest.

      • Litter, that portion of the forest floor which is not in an advanced state of decomposition.
      • Forest animals use leaf litter in a variety of ways, including as food, shelter, nesting material, bedding, and camouflage.
   6. 9

      Fuller's earth, clay pellets, wood chips, or other similar loose absorbent materials used…

      Fuller's earth, clay pellets, wood chips, or other similar loose absorbent materials used for the waste of pet animals.

      • Change the cat litter fer chrissakes. This place reeks.
   7. 10

      To drop or throw trash without properly disposing of it (as discarding in public areas…

      To drop or throw trash without properly disposing of it (as discarding in public areas rather than trash receptacles).

      • By tossing the bottle out the window, he was littering.
   8. 11

      To scatter carelessly about.

   9. 12

      To strew (a place) with scattered articles.

      • Their Clamour, 'lighting from their Chairs, / Grew lowder, all the way up Stairs; / At Entrance louder, where they found, / The Room with Volumes litter'd round; […]
      • A single written sheet of paper was on the table near her—but there were more than a hundred others, torn across, littering the floor.
   10. 13

       To give birth to, in the manner of animals.

       • We might conceive that dogs were created blind, because we observe they were littered so with us.
       • The son that she did litter here, / A freckled whelp hagborn.
   11. 14

       To produce a litter of young.

       • A desert […] where the she-wolf still littered.
   12. 15

       To supply (cattle etc.) with litter

       To supply (cattle etc.) with litter; to cover with litter, as the floor of a stall.

       • Tell them how they litter their jades.
       • For his ease, well litter'd was the floor.
   13. 16

       To be supplied with litter as bedding

       To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter.

       • The inn where he and his horse litter'd.
   14. 17

       comparative form of lit

       comparative form of lit: more lit

The neighborhood

• neighborsedanwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborsedan chairwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborhorse litterwheelless human or animal transport
• neighbormule litterwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborpalanquinwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborpalkiwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborjaunwheelless human or animal transport
• neighbormeeanawheelless human or animal transport
• neighborhammock litterwheelless human or animal transport
• neighbormancheelwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborgestatorial chairwheelless human or animal transport
• neighborandorwheelless human or animal transport