ˈlɪ.tə.ɹə.tʃə(ɹ) ˈlɪ.tɚ.ɪ.tʃɚ the profession or art of a writer her place in literature is secure the humanistic study of a body of literature he took a course in Russian lit creative writing of recognized artistic value published writings in a particular style on a particular subject the technical literature one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature