clutter

Definition

A confused disordered jumble of things.

Etymology

From Middle English cloteren (“to form clots; coagulate; heap on”), from clot (“clot”), equivalent to clot + -er (frequentative suffix). Compare Welsh cludair (“heap, pile”), cludeirio (“to heap”).

Example Sentences

• "He saw what a Clutter there was with Huge, Over-grown Pots, Pans, and Spits."
• "Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them."
• "Organizing ghost stories is like herding a clutter of cats: the phenomenon resists organization and classification."