Meaning of "litter" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LITTER

(Bed): via Anglo-French, ultimately from Latin lectus bed.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF LITTER

ˈlɪtə

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LITTER

Litter is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb litter in English.

WHAT DOES LITTER MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Litter

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw objects onto the ground and leave them indefinitely or for others to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them properly. Larger hazardous items such as tires, appliances, electronics and large industrial containers are often dumped in isolated locations, such as National Forests and other public land. It is a human impact on the environment and is a serious environmental issue in many countries. Litter can exist in the environment for long periods of time before degrading and be transported large distances into the world's oceans. Litter can affect quality of life. Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded annually. Estimates on the required time for cigarette butts to break down vary. They range from five years to 400 years for complete degradation.

Definition of litter in the English dictionary

The first definition of litter in the dictionary is small refuse or waste materials carelessly dropped, esp in public places. Other definition of litter is a disordered or untidy condition or a collection of objects in this condition. Litter is also a group of offspring produced at one birth by a mammal such as a sow.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO LITTER

PRESENT

Present

I litter

you litter

he/she/it litters

we litter

you litter

they litter

Present continuous

I am littering

you are littering

he/she/it is littering

we are littering

you are littering

they are littering

Present perfect

I have littered

you have littered

he/she/it has littered

we have littered

you have littered

they have littered

Present perfect continuous

I have been littering

you have been littering

he/she/it has been littering

we have been littering

you have been littering

they have been littering

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I littered

you littered

he/she/it littered

we littered

you littered

they littered

Past continuous

I was littering

you were littering

he/she/it was littering

we were littering

you were littering

they were littering

Past perfect

I had littered

you had littered

he/she/it had littered

we had littered

you had littered

they had littered

Past perfect continuous

I had been littering

you had been littering

he/she/it had been littering

we had been littering

you had been littering

they had been littering

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will litter

you will litter

he/she/it will litter

we will litter

you will litter

they will litter

Future continuous

I will be littering

you will be littering

he/she/it will be littering

we will be littering

you will be littering

they will be littering

Future perfect

I will have littered

you will have littered

he/she/it will have littered

we will have littered

you will have littered

they will have littered

Future perfect continuous

I will have been littering

you will have been littering

he/she/it will have been littering

we will have been littering

you will have been littering

they will have been littering

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would litter

you would litter

he/she/it would litter

we would litter

you would litter

they would litter

Conditional continuous

I would be littering

you would be littering

he/she/it would be littering

we would be littering

you would be littering

they would be littering

Conditional perfect

I would have litter

you would have litter

he/she/it would have litter

we would have litter

you would have litter

they would have litter

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been littering

you would have been littering

he/she/it would have been littering

we would have been littering

you would have been littering

they would have been littering

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you litter
we let´s litter
you litter

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to litter

Past participle

littered

Present Participle

littering

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «LITTER»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «litter» and belong to the same grammatical category.

bedding · brood · clutter · confusion · couch · debris · derange · detritus · disarrange · disarray · disorder · family · garbage · grot · jumble · junk · mess · muck · muddle · mulch · muss · offspring · palanquin · progeny · refuse · rubbish · scatter · shower · spread · stretcher · strew · tangle · trash · untidiness · waste · young

TRANSLATION OF LITTER

Find out the translation of litter to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of litter from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «litter» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 垃圾
• Translator English - Spanish: desperdicios
• English: litter
• Translator English - Hindi: कूड़े
• Translator English - Arabic: زِبَالَةٌ
• Translator English - Russian: мусор
• Translator English - Portuguese: lixo
• Translator English - Bengali: শিবিকা
• Translator English - French: détritus
• Translator English - Malay: Sampah
• Translator English - German: Abfall
• Translator English - Japanese: ごみ
• Translator English - Korean: 쓰레기
• Translator English - Javanese: Sampah
• Translator English - Vietnamese: rác rưởi
• Translator English - Tamil: குப்பை
• Translator English - Marathi: कचरा
• Translator English - Turkish: çöp
• Translator English - Italian: spazzatura
• Translator English - Polish: odpadki
• Translator English - Ukrainian: сміття
• Translator English - Romanian: gunoi
• Translator English - Greek: σκουπίδια
• Translator English - Afrikaans: rommel
• Translator English - Swedish: skräp
• Translator English - Norwegian: avfall

10 QUOTES WITH «LITTER»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word litter.

1

Bill Bryson

I see litter as part of a long continuum of anti-social behaviour.

2

James Buchan

Of all the failed technologies that litter the onward march of science - steam carriages, zeppelins, armoured trains - none has been so catastrophic to prosperity as the last century's attempt to generate electricity from nuclear fission.

3

Rose Byrne

I loved performing; I was always trying to impress my siblings by being a clown. I think that came from being the runt of the litter.

4

Joanna Lumley

I hate the hand that comes out of a car and just drops litter in the street. I hate that! For some reason, it just fills me with fury! It's just utter laziness, lack of interest in other people, lack of interest in the planet, in the hedgehog who might eat the plastic bag, it's a lack of concern.

5

Joanna Lumley

There was one 'crime' during the whole time I was at school, when a fountain pen went missing. Stealing just didn't happen. I was taught not to shoplift, not to steal, not to behave badly. We weren't even allowed to drop litter.

6

Wendi McLendon-Covey

Different people's houses smell like different weird things. God forbid someone should come and nail down what my house smells like. It'd probably be a litter box... sweaty socks... and burnt bacon. That probably is what it smells like.

7

Nick Moran

As my mum still candidly says, I was the runt of the litter.

8

Tom Peters

'In Search of Excellence' was an afterthought, the runt of the McKinsey consulting litter, a hip-pocket project that was never supposed to amount to much.

9

Martha Plimpton

I've had cats all my life and obviously loved them, but the litter box, and the having to always get a house sitter, they're just too - they're too rigid. Cats are too needy somehow.

10

Nicole Polizzi

Some exfoliates have rocks in them and it makes your skin really smooth, and cat litter is a good substitute. I haven't broke out at all yet!

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LITTER»

Discover the use of litter in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to litter and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Cleaning Up Litter

Discusses how litter harms the environment and simple steps that can be taken to help clean up litter.

Charlotte Guillain, 2008

Pick of the Litter

Twelve-year-old Tom learns first-hand about honor, first when he is wrongly accused of lying at school and then when he faces the risk of losing a puppy he has come to love while helping his grandfather train hunting dogs.

Bill Wallace, 2006

Look Out for Litter

Trina discovers many ways to prevent litter and reduce waste.

Lisa Bullard, 2011

Reducing Litter on Roadsides

"The report provides information concerning the prevention and removal of roadside litter, unfulfilled needs, knowledge gaps, and underperforming activities.

Gerry John Forbes, 2009

Plant Litter: Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon ...

clear-cut as well as the lower litter fall in the younger stands were not considered. The foliar litter fall is of course only one of the several fractions of the total litter fall , and in mature boreal stands of Scots pine and Norway spruce, foliar litter may ...

Björn Berg, Charles McClaugherty, 2013

Methods to Study Litter Decomposition: A Practical Guide

INTRODUCTION Leaf litter is a dominant component of coarse particulate organic matter in streams, and its decomposition has received considerable attention (Webster & Benfield 1986, Allan 1995, Gessner et al. 1999). Gessner & Chauvet ...

Manuel A.S. Graça, Felix Bärlocher, Mark O. Gessner, 2007

How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: 21 Days to a Litter-Free Home

Describes the advantages of toilet training a cat and provides a twenty-one day training program THIS BOOK ADDRESSES AN IMPORTANT ISSUE . . . "and" offers an easy solution to one of the most troublesome problems any cat owner will ever face ...

Paul Kunkel, 1991

Garbage and Litter

Presents readers with the hard facts about consumption and garbage, while encouraging change through activities.

Jen Green, 2010

Lady Lulu Liked to Litter

Lady Lulu litters lots. Her leftovers fill the lawn, lane, and lake. Will a litter landslide swallow Lulu and all of Lucky Landing?

Trisha Speed Shaskan, 2008

Good Cat!: A Proven Guide to Successful Litter Box Use and ...

With this book, you'll discover how to respond properly—so you can say Good Cat!

Shirlee Kalstone, 2004

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LITTER»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term litter is used in the context of the following news items.

Litterers Become Anti-Litter Ambassadors | New Haven Independent

Jesse Okeke used to drop trash around his neighborhood. Now a Dixwell “ambassador,” he doesn't litter anymore—because he's the one ... «New Haven Independent, Jul 15»

WV DEP disburses $71K for litter control programs across the sta …

The agency disbursed a total of $71,676.79 through its Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan. The grants come out of the Litter Control Fund ... «WOWK, Jul 15»

Litter fines of more than £11,000 issued - Portsmouth News

East Hampshire District Council is the second local authority to contract outside enforcement officers to give out fines for dropping litter. «Portsmouth News, Jul 15»

Flashmob Applauds Unsuspecting Litter Pickers In Central London …

Government: Don't loiter on litter. Create a strategy that has teeth. Show leadership by providing or stimulating funding. Engage with the ... «CIWM Journal Online, Jul 15»

Caught on camera: Wexford tries to stop litter bugs - Newstalk

At present, the council spends almost €2.7m cleaning up litter each year. It also has a freephone anti-litter hotline in place on 1800-386-733. «Newstalk 106-108 fm, Jul 15»

Diving into Mubarak Village: Gutka wrappers litter the land with no …

People of all ages and both genders chew on this mix of betel leaf and tobacco round the clock and gutka wrappers litter the otherwise pristine ... «The Express Tribune, Jul 15»

$71,000 Worth of Grants Awarded for Litter Control | West Virginia …

More than two dozen entities have received litter control grants from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. Department of ... «West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Jul 15»

LETTER: Lynn Canyon no place for litter - North Shore News

LETTER: Lynn Canyon no place for litter. North Shore News July 19, 2015 12:00 AM. Email; Print. • North Shore News •. Lynn canyon garbage. Lynn Canyon ... «North Shore News, Jul 15»

Headteacher singled out 11-plus 'failures' for litter-picking | Derby …

Headteacher singled out 11-plus 'failures' for litter-picking. By Derby Telegraph | Posted: July 19, 2015. By JANE GODDARD. Malcolm's final year at St Peter's ... «Derby Telegraph, Jul 15»

Beach Buddies creates new litter group | Isle of Man News …

Beach Buddies creates new litter group. by LC. Beach Buddies is creating another new group for beach cleaning - this time for singles. «isleofman.com, Jul 15»