/kree"cheuhr/ , n.
1. an animal, esp. a nonhuman: the creatures of the woods and fields; a creature from outer space.
2. anything created, whether animate or inanimate.
3. person; human being: She is a charming creature. The driver of a bus is sometimes an irritable creature.
4. an animate being.
5. 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.
6. Scot. and Older U.S. Use. intoxicating liquor, esp. whiskey (usually prec. by the ): He drinks a bit of the creature before bedtime.
[ 1250-1300; ME creature creatura act of creating. See CREATE, -URE ]