Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

litterbug

/ˈlɪtɚˌbʌɡ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.21 in modern English

Syllables: lit-ter-bug
IPA: /ˈlɪtɚˌbʌɡ/

12

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who tends to drop litter and not clean it up.

Informal

Example Sentences

"[…] I mean I'm sittin' here, on the Group W bench, 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough to join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages, after being a litterbug"
"Pretending a litterbug and a spree killer have committed equivalent infractions doesn’t make people safer."
"Mr. Doherty was known to publicly berate litterbugs and upbraid motorists whose stranded cars prevented plows from clearing snow."

Etymology

From litter + bug. Coined in 1947 by New York copywriter Paul B. Gioni for The American Ad Council, perhaps punning on jitterbug.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈlɪtɚˌbʌɡ/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

litterbugs (plural) litter bug (alternative) litter-bug (alternative)

Synonyms

litter lout litterer

Questions

How do you pronounce litterbug?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈlɪtɚˌbʌɡ/.
What does litterbug mean?: A person who tends to drop litter and not clean it up.
Where does litterbug come from?: From litter + bug. Coined in 1947 by New York copywriter Paul B. Gioni for The American Ad Council, perhaps punning on jitterbug.

How to pronounce litterbug

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “litterbug”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈlɪtɚˌbʌɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “litterbug”.
Repeat and practice — Say “litterbug” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.