critter
Americannoun
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a domesticated animal.
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any creature.
noun
Etymology
Origin of critter
Variant of creature
Explanation
A critter is an animal. If you hear scratching noises in your ceiling at night, you can be sure that some kind of critter is living in your attic. Critter is an informal word for any living creature, from a wolf to a spider. You might like going to watch various critters at the zoo, or live on a small farm where you can keep critters of your own, like goats and chickens. Critter first appeared in the early 19th century, a shortened slang or joking form of the word creature.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Video showed the critter nervously perched on a shelf, seamlessly blending in with the toy kangaroos and bears.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
As Popcorn gained popularity online, Chris and Lily wrote a book together about the impact that the little critter had on their family, which was then published in May 2024.
From BBC • May 24, 2025
It’s swifter, the animatronics are generally closer to us, and the slightly shorter ride time ensures there’s no elongated scenes without some critter action.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2024
As a set, the worm's eyes weigh about twenty times as much as the rest of the animal's head and seem grotesquely out of place on this tiny and transparent marine critter.
From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024
Every creature had a basic instinct for survival, but for that poor critter, there was no getting away.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
