litter
noun
[ ˈlɪtə ]
• rubbish such as paper, cans, and bottles left lying in an open or public place.
• "always clear up after a picnic and never drop litter"
Similar:
refuse,
junk,
waste,
debris,
odds and ends,
scraps,
leavings,
fragments,
detritus,
flotsam,
discarded matter,
dross,
muck,
rubbish,
trash,
garbage,
• a number of young animals born to an animal at one time.
• "a litter of five kittens"
• absorbent material, typically in granular form, used to line a shallow receptacle in which a cat can urinate and defecate when indoors.
• "a plastic litter tray"
• straw or other plant matter used as bedding for animals.
• "the plant burns discarded litter from poultry farms"
• a structure used to transport people, containing a bed or seat enclosed by curtains and carried on men's shoulders or by animals.
litter
verb
• make (a place or area) untidy with rubbish or a large number of objects left lying about.
• "clothes and newspapers littered the floor"
Similar:
make untidy,
mess up,
make a mess of,
clutter up,
throw into disorder,
be strewn about,
be scattered about,
be jumbled,
be disarranged,
make a shambles of,
trash,
bestrew,
besmirch,
• provide (a horse or other animal) with litter as bedding.
Origin:
Middle English (in litter (sense 5 of the noun)): from Old French litiere, from medieval Latin lectaria, from Latin lectus ‘bed’. Sense 1 dates from the mid 18th century.
