Definition of litter Litter

/lɪˈtɚ/ - [liter] - lit•ter

We found 34 definitions of litter from 8 different sources.

What does litter mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: litter
litter - conveyance consisting of a chair or bed carried on two poles by bearers
		conveyance, transport act of transferring property title from one person to another
		covered couch a litter with a cover for privacy
		palankeen, palanquin a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers
		sedan chair, sedan a car that is closed and that has front and rear seats and two or four doors
litter - rubbish carelessly dropped or left about (especially in public places)
		rubbish, scrap, trash worthless material that is to be disposed of
litter - the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
		animal group a group of animals
litter - material used to provide a bed for animals
		bedding material, bedding
Verb litters, littering, littered
litter - strew; "Cigar butts littered the ground"
		be spend or use time; "I may be an hour"
litter - give birth to a litter of animals
		birth, give birth, deliver, bear, have cause to be born; "My wife had twins yesterday!"
litter - make a place messy by strewing garbage around
		straw, strew cover or provide with or as if with straw; "cows were strawed to weather the snowstorm"

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Wiktionary

litter (Noun)
A platform mounted on two shafts, or a more elaborate construction, designed to be carried by two or more people to transport one in luxury models sometimes more third persons or occasionally in the elaborate version a cargo, such as a religious idol.
litter (Noun)
The offspring of a mammal born in one birth.
litter (Noun)
Material used as bedding for animals.
litter (Noun)
Collectively, items discarded on the ground.
litter (Noun)
Absorbent material used in an animal's litter tray .
litter (Noun)
Layer of fallen leaves and similar organic matter in a forest floor.
litter (Verb)
To drop or throw trash without properly disposing of it as discarding in public areas rather than trash receptacles.
litter (Verb)
To give birth to, used of animals.
litter (Verb)
To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter.
litter (Verb)
To produce a litter of young.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

litter (n.)
A bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried in or upon it.
litter (n.)
Straw, hay, etc., scattered on a floor, as bedding for animals to rest on; also, a covering of straw for plants.
litter (n.)
Things lying scattered about in a manner indicating slovenliness; scattered rubbish.
litter (n.)
Disorder or untidiness resulting from scattered rubbish, or from thongs lying about uncared for; as, a room in a state of litter.
litter (n.)
The young brought forth at one time, by a sow or other multiparous animal, taken collectively. Also Fig.
litter (v. t.)
To supply with litter, as cattle; to cover with litter, as the floor of a stall.
litter (v. t.)
To put into a confused or disordered condition; to strew with scattered articles; as, to litter a room.
litter (v. t.)
To give birth to; to bear; -- said of brutes, esp. those which produce more than one at a birth, and also of human beings, in abhorrence or contempt.
litter (v. i.)
To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter.
litter (v. i.)
To produce a litter.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

litter
Straw, hay or similar material used as bedding by animals.
litter
Small pieces of garbage, such as cans, bottles and wrappings, that people have left in a public place.
litter
A seat mounted on a frame with two poles on which a person can be carried.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

litter
lit′ėr, n. a heap of straw, &c., for animals to lie upon: materials for a bed: any scattered collection of objects, esp. of little value: a vehicle containing a bed for carrying about, a hospital stretcher: a brood of small quadrupeds.—v.t. to cover or supply with litter: to scatter carelessly about: to give birth to (said of small animals).—v.i. to produce a litter or brood.—p.adj. Litt′ered. [O. Fr. litiere—Low L. lectaria—L. lectus, a bed.]

Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵

litter
A sort of hurdle bed, on which to carry wounded men from the field to the boats.

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

litter
(Lat. lectica, from lectus, “bed”). According to Rees’s Cyclopædia, a kind of vehicle borne upon shafts, anciently esteemed the most easy and genteel way of carriage. It was much in use among the Romans, among whom it was borne by slaves kept for that purpose, as it still continues to be in the East, where it is called a palanquin. The invention of litters, according to Cicero, was owing to the kings of Bithynia. In the time of Tiberius they had become very frequent at Rome, as appears from Seneca. Horse-litters were much used in Europe prior to the introduction of coaches. In the military service the litter is a species of hurdle bed, on which the wounded are sometimes carried from the field of battle. What is known as the hand-litter or stretcher is used to carry men from where they fall in battle to field hospitals. The hand-litter or stretcher is generally constructed with canvas about 6¹⁄₂ feet long by 3 feet wide, the sides securely fastened to two hard-wood poles about 8 feet in length; the two cross-pieces should be constructed so that the litter can be rolled up. Small outlying bodies of troops, especially detachments of cavalry, are not always provided with them; for these the hand-litter, made with guns and blankets, has been extemporized; for this purpose the edges of the blanket are rolled over the guns, and tied firmly with twine, and two stout sticks are also tied across at the head and foot, serving as handles for the bearers. This being laid on the ground, the wounded man is placed upon it, with his knapsack under his head. The Indian litter is made by taking two stout saplings, and attaching to them three cross-pieces, about 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet apart, by cords and notches; the sick or wounded man being placed on his blanket, this frame-work is placed over him, and the blanket knotted to it. By three bent twigs and an additional blanket, a kind of top can be made to this in case of a storm. Several kinds of horse or mule litters for frontier service have been invented, but none seem so well adapted for all purposes as the one invented by Surgeon J. C. Baily, U.S.A. Ambulance litters are so constructed as to be drawn from the ambulance and taken to the wounded man, who is by it conveyed to the vehicle. It is then slid into place on rollers, and steadied by loops and guys.

Part of speech

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litter, verb, present, 1st person singular of litter (infinitive).
litter, verb (infinitive).
litter, noun, singular of litters.

Pronunciation

Word frequency

Litter is...

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Rare

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Common

Very Common

Rare

Normal

Common

Sign Language

litter in sign language