litter

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [U] small pieces of rubbish/garbage such as paper, cans and bottles, that people have left lying in a public place: There will be fines for people who drop litter. 2 [sing.] ~ of sth a number of things that are lying in an untidy way: The floor was covered with a litter of newspapers, clothes and empty cups. 3 [U] a dry substance that is put in a shallow open box for pets, especially cats, to use as a toilet when they are indoors: cat litter * (BrE) a litter tray * (AmE) a litter box 4 [C] a number of baby animals that one mother gives birth to at the same time: a litter of puppies / kittens * the runt (= the smallest and weakest baby) of the litter 5 [U] the substance, especially STRAW, that is used for farm animals to sleep on 6 [C] a kind of chair or bed that was used in the past for carrying important people verb 1 [VN] to be spread around a place, making it look untidy: Piles of books and newspapers littered the floor. * Broken glass littered the streets. 2 ~ (sth) (with sth) [usuallypassive] to leave things in a place, making it look untidy: [VN] The floor was littered with papers. * [V] (AmE) He was arrested for littering. 3 [VN] (be littered with sth) to contain or involve a lot of a particular type of thing usually sth bad: Your essay is littered with spelling mistakes.