1. (noun)literature creative writing of recognized artistic value
2. (noun)literature, lit the humanistic study of a body of literature "he took a course in Russian lit"
3. (noun)literature published writings in a particularstyle on a particularsubject "the technical literature"; "one aspect of Waterloo has not yet been treated in the literature"
4. (noun)literature the profession or art of a writer "her place in literature is secure"