litter

«litter» in Mova's school dictionary: rubbish like paper, cans and wrappers left lying on the… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (litter, uncountable; a litter, litters); verb (litter, litters, littered, littering)

meaning for a pupil

1) Litter is rubbish like paper, cans and wrappers left lying on the ground in a public place. tree →

2) A litter is a group of baby animals born to one mother at the same time. tree →

3) Cat litter is the material in a tray that a cat uses as a toilet. tree →

4) To litter is to drop rubbish on the ground, or to be spread untidily over a place. tree →

5) A litter is a bed or chair carried on poles by people, used in the past to carry someone. tree →

sense in the lessons

In lessons on the environment, litter harms wildlife (animals get trapped or eat plastic) and makes places dirty; put rubbish in a bin or take it home. In science, mammals like cats, dogs and rabbits have litters. In pet care, change cat litter often and wash hands after. Phrases: drop litter, litter bin, litter picking, a litter of puppies, litter tray.

examples

• Please don't drop litter in the park. tree →
• Our class went litter picking on the beach. tree →
• The dog had a litter of six puppies. tree →
• Put your wrapper in the litter bin. tree →
• Clean the cat's litter tray every day. tree →
• Toys littered the bedroom floor. tree →
• In the meantime the Princess Cabbage-Stalk had reached the palace, travelling in a litter. tree →

note

"Litter" (rubbish) is uncountable: some litter, a lot of litter. "A litter" (babies) is countable. Dropping litter can bring a fine in many places. Pregnant women should not clean cat litter because of germs.

In the corpora

• Litter on beaches and in rivers can trap or choke wild animals.
• Keep a snack wrapper in your pocket or bag until you find a bin, because litter harms animals and spoils places for everyone.
• You can pick up safe litter left by others with gloves or a litter picker; it helps nature and sets a good example.
• Never release balloons outdoors, because they come down as litter that animals swallow or get tangled in.
• Plastic dropped as litter can last hundreds of years, so plastic bottles should go in the recycling.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «litter» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.