creature
Americannoun
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an animal, especially a nonhuman.
the creatures of the woods and fields; a creature from outer space.
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anything created, whether animate or inanimate.
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person; human being.
She is a charming creature. The driver of a bus is sometimes an irritable creature.
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an animate being.
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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.
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Scot. and Older U.S. Use. Usually the creature intoxicating liquor, especially whiskey.
He drinks a bit of the creature before bedtime.
noun
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a living being, esp an animal
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something that has been created, whether animate or inanimate
a creature of the imagination
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a human being; person: used as a term of scorn, pity, or endearment
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a person who is dependent upon another; tool or puppet
Other Word Forms
- creatural adjective
- creatureliness noun
Etymology
Origin of creature
First recorded before 1250–1300; Middle English creature, from Late Latin creātūra “act of creating”; create, -ure
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.
“I would never hurt a puppy. They are the purest of all creatures.”
From Literature
They featured detailed drawings of various ancient fossils and prehistoric creatures, whose origins were beginning to be studied and understood by scientists at the time.
From BBC
Some scientists thought these fish-eating creatures may have been fully aquatic, gliding through deep waters to snare prey.
From Barron's
"The key point here is that this early separation between parent and offspring, and the size differences between these creatures, likely led to profound ecological consequences," Holtz explained.
From Science Daily
Barnum’s American Museum in New York exhibited objects, creatures, and people, some real, many fake, most wildly exaggerated.
From Literature
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.
