creature

[ kree-cher ]

noun

1. an animal, especially a nonhuman:

   the creatures of the woods and fields; a creature from outer space.

2. anything created, whether animate or inanimate.
3. person; human being:

   She is a charming creature. The driver of a bus is sometimes an irritable creature.

4. an animate being.
5. a person whose position or fortune is owed to someone or something and who continues under the control or influence of that person or thing:

   The cardinal was a creature of Louis XI.

6. Scot. and Older U.S. Use. Usually the creature. intoxicating liquor, especially whiskey:

   He drinks a bit of the creature before bedtime.

creature

/ ˈkriːtʃə /

noun

1. a living being, esp an animal
2. something that has been created, whether animate or inanimate

   a creature of the imagination

3. a human being; person: used as a term of scorn, pity, or endearment
4. a person who is dependent upon another; tool or puppet

Derived Forms

• ˈcreatureliness, noun
• ˈcreatural, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of creature¹

First recorded before 1250–1300; Middle English creature, from Late Latin creātūra “act of creating”; create, -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of creature¹

C13: from Church Latin crēatūra, from Latin crēare to create

Example Sentences

A silvery 10-foot-long creature, the oarfish has fueled fisherman’s tales of sea serpents — and in some cultures has been a portent of natural disasters.

From Los Angeles Times

If an oarfish happens to swim up to the ocean’s surface, a sailor would see a long slithering creature with spiky protrusions on its head and could believe it was a sea monster, Paig-Tran said.

From Los Angeles Times

Another factor that adds to the mystique of this creature is the lack of knowledge about its history and daily life, including how it mates, when it lays eggs, what its movement patterns are and how often it feeds.

From Los Angeles Times

“The moment you put yourself in a first-class hotel, you become walled off from life, in a world devoted to creature comforts,” Mr. Frommer told The Los Angeles Times in 2009.

From New York Times

Their discovery of Uncus dzaugisi, a worm-like creature rarely over a few centimeters in length, is described in a paper published today in Current Biology.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• animal
• critter
• fellow
• individual
• living thing
• man
• person
• soul
• woman