crea ‧ ture W3 /ˈkriːtʃə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Late Latin creatura , from Latin creare ; ⇨ ↑ create ]
1 . LIVING THING anything that is living, such as an animal, fish, or insect, but not a plant:
all the living creatures in the sea
creatures of the deep (=animals and fish that live in the ocean)
2 . IMAGINARY OR STRANGE an imaginary animal or person, or one that is very strange and frightening:
creatures from outer space
3 . a creature of habit someone who always does things in the same way or at the same time
4 . SOMETHING MADE OR INVENTED formal something, especially something bad, that was made or invented by a particular person or organization
creature of
The poll tax was a creature of the government.
5 . SOMEBODY CONTROLLED BY SOMETHING someone who is controlled or influenced a lot by something
creature of
He was a creature of the military government.
6 . beautiful/stupid/adorable etc creature literary someone who has a particular character or quality:
He was the most beautiful creature Dot had ever seen.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + creature
▪ a living creature
The early Greeks believed that plants were living creatures that felt pain and pleasure.
▪ a little/small/tiny creature
tiny creatures such as mice
▪ a beautiful/magnificent creature
The buffalo is a magnificent creature.
▪ a wild creature
Damage to the environment affects all wild creatures.
▪ a sea/marine creature ( also an ocean creature )
The first living creatures were marine creatures.
▪ a furry creature
Town dwellers see the squirrel as a cute furry creature, but to farmers they’re a pest.
▪ a dangerous creature
dangerous creatures such as tigers
▪ a nocturnal creature (=awake at night and sleeping in the day)
As darkness falls, nocturnal creatures begin to make an appearance.
▪ a primitive/simple creature (=one with only a few cells)
primitive creatures like bacteria
▪ a complex creature (=consisting of many different parts)
Human beings are extremely complex creatures.
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THESAURUS
▪ animal a living thing such as a dog, cow, or tiger, but not an insect, fish, or bird:
farm animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs
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People are becoming more concerned about animal welfare.
▪ creature /ˈkriːtʃə $ -ər/ an animal – used especially when describing a particular animal’s characteristics or when referring to animals generally:
The cheetah is a magnificent creature.
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all the living creatures in the sea
▪ beast an animal, especially a large or dangerous one:
To most people, lions are savage beasts.
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a wild beast
▪ living thing an animal considered as one of a group of things that grow and then die, including humans and plants:
The only living things we saw were dogs and cats.
▪ species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ a group of animals whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals:
Seven species of birds of prey have been observed.
▪ mammal an animal that drinks milk from its mother’s body when it is young:
Humans, dogs, and whales are all mammals.
▪ vertebrate a living creature that has a backbone:
viruses that affect chickens, monkeys, and most other vertebrates
▪ invertebrate a living creature that does not have a backbone:
earthworms and other small invertebrates