(~s)
1.
You can refer to any living thing that is not a plant as a ~, especially when it is of an unknown or unfamiliar kind. People also refer to imaginary animals and beings as ~s.
Alaskan Eskimos believe that every living ~ possesses a spirit...
The garden is surrounded by a hedge in which many small ~s can live...
= being
N-COUNT
2.
If you say that someone is a particular type of ~, you are focusing on a particular quality they have.
She’s charming, a sweet ~...
She was a ~ of the emotions, rather than reason.
a ~ of habit: see habit
N-COUNT: with supp