Phrase guide

leaf litter

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs, that has fallen to the ground and may be used by animals as habitat or for nest-building, eventually decomposing and releasing nutrients into the soil.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: fullaraca — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Catalan: virosta — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Finnish: lehtikarike — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • French: feuilles mortes — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • French: litière — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • German: abgefallenes Laub — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • German: trockenes Laub — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Hungarian: avar — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Hungarian: levéltakaró — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Malayalam: കരിയില (kariyila) — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Polish: ściółka — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs
  • Portuguese: serapilheira — dead plant material, such as fallen leaves, bark, and twigs