~ Litter

Posted by Miss Evi     Category: Word of the day

litter (noun, verb)

Litter is a mass noun that describes paper, cans, or general garbage that people throw in the street or any other public space. If we say “a litter of something,” we mean that a space is covered with untidy objects. As a verb, litter means ‘to throw garbage in the street’ and also ‘to leave objects lying around in a disorganized way.’

 

Example sentences

  • After the concert, the whole park was full of litter.
  • The kitchen table was a litter of dirty plates and mugs.
  • You can get a fine for littering in Hong Kong.
  • Jules never puts anything away; she litters her room with clothes and shoes and leaves books lying around the living room.

 

Words often used with litter

cat litter: absorbent material that cats use to urinate and defecate at home

litter box (US), litter tray (UK): the container where you put cat litter

litter bin (UK): a small trash can in public spaces

 

Commonly confused with

Litter refers to objects that have not been disposed of properly. Items that have been put in the appropriate place for collection would be called “rubbish” in the UK or “trash” or “garbage” in the US.

 

Other forms

litterer (noun)

 

Origin

Litter dates back to the second half of the 13th century, as the Middle English word litere (bed). That word comes from the Medieval Latin word lectāria and the Anglo-French and Old French word litiere.

 

Additional information

A litter is also a group of animals born at the same time.

 

(Source: http://daily.wordreference.com/w/fKuTr8uuihAj9gbRS7ni7Q)

~ Nevertheless

Posted by Miss Evi     Category: Word of the day

nevertheless (adverb)

Nevertheless means “however” or “even so.”

Example sentences

  • It may rain on Saturday. Nevertheless, we’ll go hiking.
  • Danny’s salary is low, but nevertheless, he loves his job and has no intention of quitting.
  • One of the main actors in the play is sick; nevertheless, the performance will begin at 7pm as usual.

Did you know?

Nevertheless is a formal word that is mainly used in writing. It is made up of three words, and used to be written with spaces between them (“never the less”). A similar word that means the same thing (and is also made up of three words) is “nonetheless.” Even though they have the same meaning, some people feel that “nonetheless” is a bit more formal than nevertheless. They also tend to use “nonetheless” at the end of sentences. Nevertheless is used almost twice as often as “nonetheless,” but there’s an even more formal synonym, “notwithstanding.” Almost nobody uses that one! Nevertheless, English speakers are familiar with it.

Origin

Nevertheless is a very old word that dates from the 1200s.

(Source: http://daily.wordreference.com/w/9KBm0IQXM50Upq9gYrctDw)

~ Waste

Posted by Miss Evi     Category: Word of the day

waste (noun, verb)

The word waste has several meanings. It can mean “to spend or use something without taking advantage of its full potential,” or “to spend or use something recklessly.” It may also refer to unwanted material or leftovers of certain processes, or even to garbage.

Example sentences

  • Trying to teach my cat to use the toilet turned out to be a waste of time.
  • This job is beneath you. You’re wasting your talent!
  • Industrial waste is sometimes harmful to the environment and needs to be disposed of appropriately.
  • Recycling is an efficient way to reduce household waste.

Words often used with waste

A waste of money” is an expression that means that something is not worth what you spent. 

  • Example: “Lots of people join the gym in January and pay for a year’s membership, but they only go a few times, so it’s a waste of money.”

Go to waste” means that something is being wasted.

  • Example: “French grocery stores have to give leftover food to charities so that it doesn’t go to waste.”

Lay waste to something” is an expression meaning “destroy completely.”

  • Example: “The invading army laid waste to the city; it was in ruins when they left.”

Waste away” means to become weaker and thinner, often because someone is sick.

  • Example: “It is difficult to work in a hospital and watch patients waste away despite our best efforts to cure them.”

Did you know?

While most countries are looking for ways to get rid of it, Norway is actually paying to import waste. And if you think this is a waste of money, you may want to reconsider. They are actually making even more money by burning it to produce energy.

Other forms

wasteful (adjective), wasteable (adjective), wasteless (adjective)

Origin

Originally from Old North French, waste first appeared in Middle English between 1150 and 1200.

(Source: http://daily.wordreference.com/w/QlcZNdyfHxvSzIZJKZhgBA )

~ Seldom

Posted by Miss Evi     Category: Word of the day

seldom (adverb, adjective)

When used as an adverb, seldom means that something happens rarely, or not often. Less commonly, it can also be used as an adjective, and in this case it refers to something that occurs only on very rare occasions. The adjective use is mainly in the US.

Example sentences

  • I seldom visit my hometown; I think it has been 5 years since I was last there.
  • I met the love of my life during one of my seldom visits to the city.

Words often used with seldom

Seldom, if ever” is a phrase used to mean “even less frequently than seldom.” If you use this expression, you mean that something happens very infrequently, or not at all.

Additional information

For many English speakers, seldom can be too formal to use in everyday speech. It is more common to say “I don’t visit my hometown very often” than “I seldom visit my hometown.” To sound more like a native speaker, try to use this word only in more formal or literary contexts. In more informal contexts, you can say “not very often” or “not a lot” (eg, “I don’t visit my hometown a lot”).

Did you know?

You may have heard the phrase “once in a blue moon“. Technically this means about every 2.5 years, since a blue moon (meaning the second full moon in one calendar month) occurs at such intervals. But the phrase is most often used figuratively, as a synonym of seldom.

Origin

Seldom derives from the old English word “seldum,” a variant of “seldan.” It is a cognate with the German word “selten,” and the Gothic “silda-.”

(Source: http://daily.wordreference.com/w/W9GSPJyGdaQwnySPuFw1yA)

~ Meanwhile

Posted by Miss Evi     Category: Word of the day

meanwhile (adverb, noun)

Meanwhile as an adverb has two meanings: “during the time something else happens” and “at the same time.” As a noun, meanwhile means “the time something else happens.”

Example sentence

  • Susan went shopping on Saturday; meanwhile, her husband got a tattoo!
  • We’re moving to California next month, so meanwhile we’ll be busy packing.
  • The teacher will be gone for twenty minutes. In the meanwhile, please work on your essays.

Multi-words forms

“Meanwhile, back at the ranch” is a well-known phrase in US English. In the past it was used by narrators of American cowboy movies as a transition between scenes. Now it is mostly used ironically.Example: “My wife is on a business trip in Hawaii. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the kids are driving me crazy!”

Similar expressions

“In the meantime” is a synonym for meanwhile or “in the meanwhile.”

Origin

Meanwhile first appeared in Middle English 1300–1350.

(Source: http://daily.wordreference.com/w/ONfO8IUnkEehhPZharsZCg)