littered
littered — verb
- litteredpresent simple I / you / we / they
- littereds3rd person singular
- littereding-ing form
- litterededpast simple
1. to leave many objects scattered all over a surface or place, so that it looks un
to leave many objects scattered all over a surface or place, so that it looks untidy
The toddlers littered the living-room floor with toys and crayons before lunch.
transitive: litter + place + with + objects
After the concert, empty cups and ticket stubs littered every row of seats.
subject = the scattered objects (cups littered the seats)
Rachid littered his desk with old receipts and half-finished drawings.
Fallen leaves littered the garden path all through October.
The children littered the kitchen table with glue, scissors, and coloured paper.
- tidy
to put scattered things back in order
文法句型
litter + place + with + objects
用法筆記
Often appears as 'litter [place] with [things]', or with the scattered objects themselves as the subject ('papers littered the floor').
2. to be full of a large number of a particular thing, especially mistakes or unwan
to be full of a large number of a particular thing, especially mistakes or unwanted items spread all through it
Nadia's first draft was littered with spelling mistakes and missing commas.
passive: be littered with [errors]
The old country road was littered with deep potholes after the harsh winter.
Mateo's history essay was littered with dates that turned out to be wrong.
The abandoned factory floor was littered with broken glass and rusty nails.
The comedian's speech was littered with jokes, so the audience kept laughing.
文法句型
be littered with + noun
用法筆記
Almost always passive ('be littered with') and the thing it is full of is often abstract, such as errors, clichés, or delays, unlike sense 1's physical scattering.
3. to throw or leave waste such as wrappers or cans on streets and public places ra
to throw or leave waste such as wrappers or cans on streets and public places rather than putting it in a bin
Please do not litter; carry your snack wrappers home in your bag.
imperative warning: do not litter
Two teenagers were fined for littering near the train station last week.
gerund: fined for littering
Karim never litters, even when there is no bin in sight.
Visitors who litter in the national park now face a heavy fine.
The festival warned guests not to litter the riverbank with bottles and cans.
- fly-tip
British; dumping larger waste illegally rather than small items
- tidy up
to clear away rubbish from a place
文法句型
litter (in a place)
用法筆記
Used both without an object ('do not litter') and with a place as the object ('litter the beach'). The waste is understood, so naming it is unnecessary.
常見錯誤
littered — noun
1. waste such as paper, cans, and wrappers that people drop and leave lying in publ
waste such as paper, cans, and wrappers that people drop and leave lying in public places
Volunteers filled twelve bags with litter from the crowded city beach.
uncountable: litter takes no plural
The park bins overflowed, so litter blew across the football field.
Picking up litter every Saturday, Élise slowly cleaned her whole street.
A pile of litter had gathered under the broken park bench.
Tourists left so much litter that the mountain trail looked like a dump.
用法筆記
Uncountable: say 'a lot of litter' or 'a piece of litter', never 'litters'. The plural form belongs to the baby-animal and bedding senses.
常見錯誤
2. all the young that one mother animal, such as a dog, cat, or pig, gives birth to
all the young that one mother animal, such as a dog, cat, or pig, gives birth to together
Their farm dog gave birth to a litter of seven healthy puppies.
countable: a litter of [young animals]
The vet checked each kitten in the new litter for fleas.
Haruto's rabbit produced two litters of babies in a single spring.
A sow usually feeds her whole litter of piglets at the same time.
Only three pups from the litter survived the cold winter night.
- brood
used mainly of birds or hens, not of mammals
文法句型
a litter of + young animals
用法筆記
Countable in this sense: 'a litter of puppies', 'two litters a year'. The young are all born from one pregnancy.
3. straw, hay, or similar dry material spread on the floor for farm animals to rest
straw, hay, or similar dry material spread on the floor for farm animals to rest on
The farmer spread fresh litter across the stable before the cold night.
uncountable: litter as animal bedding
Clean straw litter keeps the hens warm during the winter months.
Reuben changed the litter in the rabbit hutch every other day.
Damp litter in the barn can quickly make the cattle ill.
The stable hands piled soft litter into each horse's stall.
用法筆記
Uncountable and mostly a farming term; in everyday city life this sense is rare compared with the rubbish and cat-toilet meanings.
4. dry grains placed in a tray so that a cat or other indoor pet can relieve itself
dry grains placed in a tray so that a cat or other indoor pet can relieve itself
Samir poured fresh litter into the cat's tray every single morning.
uncountable: cat litter; litter tray / box
The clumping litter made cleaning the cat's box much faster.
Our kitten refused to use the new scented litter at first.
Always scoop the dirty litter so the cat stays healthy and happy.
A large bag of clay litter can last one cat about a month.
用法筆記
Uncountable, almost always as 'cat litter' and used with 'litter tray' (British) or 'litter box' (American).