litter
[noun]
Synonyms:
- rubbish, debris, detritus, garbage (chiefly U.S.), muck, refuse, trash
- brood, offspring, progeny, young
[verb]
Synonyms:
- clutter, derange, disarrange, disorder, mess up
- scatter, strew

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English Thesaurus: baby, toddler, infant, little one, young, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. lit‧ter¹ /ˈlɪtə $ -ər/ 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 Synonym : 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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. litter² 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 Synonym : 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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

litter
noun
VERB + LITTER drop, leave Please do not leave litter after your picnic.
clean up, clear up, pick up
LITTER + VERB be strewn Litter was strewn all over the field.
LITTER + NOUN basket, bin | lout The local council has pledged to clamp down on litter louts on the beach.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

litter
I.
verb
BAD: Children should be taught that it is wrong to litter.
GOOD: Children should be taught that it is wrong to drop litter.
BAD: If someone litters the street, someone else has to clear it up.
GOOD: If someone drops litter in the street, someone else has to clear it up.

Usage Note:
People drop/leave litter (= leave things such as empty packets, cans and bottles in a public place): 'There is a $100 fine for dropping litter.'
Things litter a floor, street, area etc: 'Discarded clothing began to litter the dance floor.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

litter
II.
noun
BAD: In the cities the streets are full of litters.
GOOD: In the cities the streets are full of litter.

Usage Note:
Litter is an uncountable noun: 'Wherever you find crowds, you'll find litter.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
young the babies of an animal or bird:
Kangaroos carry their young in a pouch.
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

group several people together in the same place:
A group of boys stood by the school gate.
Arrange yourselves in groups of three.
crowd a large group of people who have come to a place to do something:
There were crowds of shoppers in the streets.
The crowd all cheered.
mob a large, noisy, and perhaps violent crowd:
An angry mob of demonstrators approached.
mass a large group of people all close together in one place, so that they seem like a single thing:
The square in front of the station was a solid mass of people.
bunch informal a group of people who are all similar in some way:
They’re a nice bunch of kids.
gang a group of young people, especially a group that often causes trouble and fights:
He was attacked by a gang of youths.
rabble a noisy group of people who are behaving badly:
He was met by a rabble of noisy angry youths.
horde a very large group of people who all go somewhere:
In summer hordes of tourists flock to the island.
There were hordes of people coming out of the subway.
crew a group of people who all work together, especially on a ship or plane:
the ship’s crew
The flight crew will serve drinks shortly.
party a group of people who are travelling or working together:
A party of tourists stood at the entrance to the temple.
herd a group of cows, deer, or elephants:
A herd of cows was blocking the road.
team a group of people who work together:
She is being cared for by a team of doctors.
flock a group of sheep or birds:
a flock of seagulls
The farmer has over 100 sheep in his flock.
pack a group of dogs or wolves:
Some dogs are bred to work in packs.
litter a group of kittens or puppies born at one time to a particular mother:
He was one of a litter of seven puppies.
school/shoal a group of fish or dolphins:
Piranha fish live in shoals in the wild.
bundle several papers, clothes, or sticks held or tied together in an untidy pile:
Bundles of papers and files filled the shelves.
cluster a group of things of the same kind that are close together in a place:
a cluster of stars
Our road ended at a cluster of cottages.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

refuse to say firmly that you will not do something that someone has asked you to do:
I asked the bank for a loan, but they refused.
When they refused to leave, we had to call the police.
say no spoken to say that you will not do something when someone asks you:
They asked me so nicely that I couldn’t really say no.
turn somebody/something down to refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or a formal request:
They offered me the job but I turned it down.
The board turned down a request for $25,000 to sponsor an art exhibition.
I’ve already been turned down by three colleges.
reject to refuse to accept an idea, offer, suggestion, or plan:
They rejected the idea because it would cost too much money.
The Senate rejected a proposal to limit the program to two years.
decline formal to politely refuse to accept an offer or invitation, or refuse to do something:
She has declined all offers of help.
A palace spokesman declined to comment on the rumours.
deny to refuse to allow someone to do something or enter somewhere:
They were denied permission to publish the book.
He was denied access to the US.
veto to officially refuse to allow a law or plan, or to refuse to accept someone’s suggestion:
Congress vetoed the bill.
The suggestion was quickly vetoed by the other members of the team.
disallow to officially refuse to accept something because someone has broken the rules, or not done it in the correct way:
The goal was disallowed by the referee.
The court decided to disallow his evidence.
rebuff formal to refuse to accept someone’s offer, request, or suggestion:
The company raised its offer to $6 billion, but was rebuffed.
He was politely rebuffed when he suggested holding the show in Dublin.
give somebody/something the thumbs down informal to refuse to allow or accept a plan or suggestion:
The plan was given the thumbs down by the local authority.
They gave us the thumbs down.
rubbish especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
the rubbish bin
garbage/trash American English rubbish:
The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
There were piles of trash in the backyard.
a black plastic garbage bag
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
nuclear waste
toxic waste
household waste
The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rubbish especially British English things that people throw away, such as old food, dirty paper etc:
People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
the rubbish bin
garbage/trash American English rubbish:
The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
There were piles of trash in the backyard.
a black plastic garbage bag
refuse formal rubbish:
The strike has disrupted refuse collection.
It’s a site which is used for domestic refuse.
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in industrial processes:
nuclear waste
toxic waste
household waste
The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.
destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired:
The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city.
The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it:
Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city.
The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident:
The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times.
The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing:
The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building:
The toilets had been wrecked by vandals.
They just wrecked the place.
trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc:
Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains:
The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely:
The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed:
Fungus may ruin the crop.
The new houses will ruin the view.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

young not old:
a young man of about 22
My dad died when I was young.
There are excellent facilities for young children.
Young people are often unable to get jobs.
small/little a small child is very young. Little sounds more informal than small, and is used especially in spoken English:
They have two small children.
We used to go camping a lot when the kids were little.
teenage [only before noun] between the ages of 13 and 19:
a group of teenage boys
They have three teenage children.
adolescent especially written at the age when you change from being a child into an adult – used especially when talking about the problems that young people have at this age:
Sudden mood changes are common in adolescent girls.
adolescent behaviour
juvenile /ˈdʒuːvənaɪl $ -nəl, -naɪl/ [only before noun] formal connected with young people who commit crime:
juvenile crime
a special prison for juvenile offenders
juvenile deliquents (=young people who commit crimes)
youthful especially written seeming young, or typical of someone who is young – often used about someone who is no longer young:
a youthful 55 year old
youthful enthusiasm
Andrew still has a slim youthful look about him.
The photograph showed a youthful, smiling Rose.
junior connected with sports played by young people rather than adults:
the junior championships
the junior champion
childhood the time when you are a child, especially a young child:
I had a wonderful childhood in the country.
childhood illnesses
girlhood/boyhood the time when you are a young girl or boy:
The two men had been friends in boyhood.
the transition from girlhood to womanhood
youth the time when you are young, especially between about 15 and 25 when you are no longer a child:
He was a great sportsman in his youth.
She revisited all the places where she had spent her youth.
adolescence the time when you are changing from being a child into an adult – used especially when you are talking about the problems people have at this age:
During adolescence, boys are often lacking in self-confidence.
infancy formal the time when you are a baby:
In the past, many more babies died in infancy.
baby a very young child who has not yet learned to speak or walk:
I sat next to a woman holding a baby.
toddler a baby who has learned how to walk:
The playground has a special area for toddlers.
infant formal a baby or a very young child:
The disease is mainly found in infants.
little one spoken informal a baby, or a small child up to the age of about three:
How old is your little one?
litter a group of baby animals that are born at the same time to the same mother:
Our cat has just had a litter of six kittens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲