creature

noun

KREE-chur/ˈkɹi.tʃəɹ/UKKREE-chuh/ˈkɹiː.tʃə/

Pluralcreatures

5 meanings of creature

1
nouncountable
A living thing, like an animal, monster, or alien.
Like any animal or being you might meet in a zoo or a fairy tale.
Every creature in the forest hid when the storm came.
The zoo is home to many strange creatures.
Similarbeing, animal, organism, beast
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2
nouncountable
A strange, scary animal that nobody can name or explain.
Like the monster in a scary story that no one can prove is real.
The villagers feared the creature that left huge tracks in the snow.
Some people say a giant creature lives deep in the lake.
Similarmonster, beast, entity, thing
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3
nounderogatorycountable
An unkind word for a person, often someone seen as low or pitiful.
How could that selfish creature treat his family so badly?
She called him a horrible creature and walked away.
Similarwretch, specimen
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4
nouncountable
A person or thing that depends on someone else or is controlled by them.
The town council is a creature of the state, so it can only do what state law allows.
The boss filled the office with his own creatures, people who always agreed with him.
Similarpuppet, pawn, tool, instrument, minion
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Less common meaning

5
nounrarecountable
Anything that has been made or created, living or not.
In the story, every creature was shaped by the hands of a maker.
Thoughts, my mindes creatures, often are with thee, / But I, their maker, want their libertie.
1633, John Donne, Sapho to PhilænisHere, creatures means things created, so thoughts are things my mind made.
Similarcreation
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Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin creātūra, meaning a created thing, from creō. It reached English through Old French.