# litter

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈlɪt.ɚ/ · frequency rank #11,063

## Definitions
1. Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.
2. Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.
3. Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.
4. A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human shoulders or animal backs.
5. A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human shoulders or animal backs.
6. A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human shoulders or animal backs.
7. Synonym of straw, grass, etc. more generally, particularly in plaster, thatch, and mulch.
8. An act of giving birth to a number of live young at the same time.
9. The whole group of live young born at the same time, typically in reference to mammals or (figurative, derogatory) unpleasant people or objects.
10. Waste or debris, originally any mess but now particularly trash left or thrown on the ground.
11. A bed, a substrate formed from loose materials.
12. The layer of fallen leaves and other loose organic material on the ground in a forest.
13. Fuller's earth, clay pellets, wood chips, or other similar loose absorbent materials used for the waste of pet animals.

## Etymology
From Middle English litere, lytere, etc., from Anglo-Norman litere, litiere, etc., from Old French litiere (“bedding; bed of loose straw; litter”), from Late Latin lectuāria (“bedding; blankets”), from Latin lectus (“bed; couch”) + -āria (“forming related nouns”), from Proto-Italic *lektos (“[thing] lain upon”), from *leɣō (“to lie down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-. Cognate with French lit and litière.

## Easily confused with
- **liver** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-liver)
- **lotte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-lotte)
- **little** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-little)
- **Luther** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-luther)
- **luster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-luster)
- **lottery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litter-vs-lottery)
- **lite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lite-vs-litter)
- **later** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/later-vs-litter)
- **liner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liner-vs-litter)
- **litre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/litre-vs-litter)
- **liter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liter-vs-litter)
- **latte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/latte-vs-litter)
- **liber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liber-vs-litter)
- **listen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/listen-vs-litter)
- **letter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/letter-vs-litter)
- **listed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/listed-vs-litter)
- **latter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/latter-vs-litter)
- **lifted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lifted-vs-litter)
- **Lester** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lester-vs-litter)
- **linger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/linger-vs-litter)

## Common misspellings (6)
`iltter`, `litetr`, `litterr`, `littre`, `llitter`, `ltiter`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/litter