liti|gate /l I t I ge I t/ (litigates , litigating , litigated ) VERB To litigate means to take legal action. [LEGAL ] □ [V n] …the cost of litigating personal injury claims in the county court. □ [V ] If we have to litigate, we will.
liti|ga|tion /l I t I ge I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Litigation is the process of fighting or defending a case in a civil court of law. □ The settlement ends more than four years of litigation on behalf of the residents.
liti|ga|tor /l I t I ge I tə r / (litigators ) N‑COUNT A litigator is a lawyer who helps someone take legal action. [LEGAL ]
li|ti|gious /l I t I dʒəs/ ADJ Someone who is litigious often makes formal complaints about people to a civil court of law. [FORMAL ]
lit|mus test /l I tməs test/ (litmus tests ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you say that something is a litmus test of something, you mean that it is an effective and definite way of proving it or measuring it. □ [+ of ] Ending the fighting must be the absolute priority, the litmus test of the agreements' validity. □ [+ for ] The success of wind power represents a litmus test for renewable energy.
li|tre /liː tə r / (litres ) in AM, use liter N‑COUNT [num N ] A litre is a metric unit of volume that is a thousand cubic centimetres. It is equal to 1.76 British pints or 2.11 American pints. □ [+ of ] …15 litres of water. □ This tax would raise petrol prices by about 3.5p per litre. □ …a Ford Escort with a 1.9-litre engine.
lit|ter /l I tə r / (litters , littering , littered )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Litter is rubbish that is left lying around outside. □ If you see litter in the corridor, pick it up. □ On Wednesday we cleared a beach and woodland of litter.
2 N‑UNCOUNT A litter of things is a quantity of them that are lying around in a disorganized way. □ [+ of ] He pushed aside the litter of books and papers and laid two places at the table.
3 VERB If a number of things litter a place, they are scattered untidily around it or over it. □ [V n] Glass from broken bottles litters the pavement. ● lit|tered ADJ [ADJ prep/adv] □ The entrance hall is littered with toys and wellington boots. □ Concrete purpose-built resorts are littered across the mountainsides.
4 ADJ [v-link ADJ with n] If something is littered with things, it contains many examples of it. □ [+ with ] History is littered with men and women spurred into achievement by a father's disregard. □ [+ with ] Charles' speech is littered with lots of marketing buzzwords like 'package' and 'product'.
5 N‑COUNT A litter is a group of animals born to the same mother at the same time. □ [+ of ] …a litter of pups.
6 N‑UNCOUNT Litter is a dry substance that you put in the container where you want your cat to go to the toilet.
li t|ter bin (litter bins ) N‑COUNT A litter bin is a container, usually in a street, park, or public building, into which people can put rubbish. [BRIT ] in AM, use trash can
little
➊ DETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES
➋ ADJECTIVE USES
➊ lit|tle ◆◆◆ /l I t ə l/
1 DET You use little to indicate that there is only a very small amount of something. You can use 'so', 'too', and 'very' in front of little . □ I had little money and little free time. □ I find that I need very little sleep these days. □ There is little doubt that a diet high in fibre is more satisfying. □ So far little progress has been made towards ending the fighting. ● QUANT Little is also a quantifier. □ Little of the existing housing is of good enough quality. ● PRON Little is also a pronoun. □ In general, employers do little to help the single working mother. □ Little is known about his childhood.
2 ADV [ADV with v] Little means not very often or to only a small extent. □ On their way back to Marseille they spoke very little.
3 DET A little of something is a small amount of it, but not very much. You can also say a very little . □ Mrs Caan needs a little help getting her groceries home. □ A little food would do us all some good. □ I shall be only a very little time. ● PRON Little is also a pronoun. □ They get paid for it. Not much. Just a little. ● QUANT Little is also a quantifier. □ [+ of ] Pour a little of the sauce over the chicken. □ [+ of ] I'm sure she won't mind sparing us a little of her time.
4 ADV [ADV after v] If you do something a little , you do it for a short time. □ He walked a little by himself in the garden.
5 ADV [ADV after v, ADV adj/adv] A little or a little bit means to a small extent or degree. □ He complained a little of a nagging pain between his shoulder blades. □ He was a little bit afraid of his father's reaction. □ If you have to drive when you are tired, go a little more slowly than you would normally.
6 PHRASE If something happens little by little , it happens very gradually. □ In the beginning he had felt well, but little by little he was becoming weaker.
➋ lit|tle ◆◆◆ /l I t ə l/ (littler , littlest ) The comparative littler and the superlative littlest are sometimes used in spoken English for meanings 1 , 3 , and 4 , but otherwise the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective little are not used. 1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Little things are small in size. Little is slightly more informal than small . □ We sat around a little table, eating and drinking tea. □ …the little group of art students.