creature Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
    animate being; brute; beast; animal; fauna.
  2. noun a human being; `wight' is an archaic term
    wight.
  3. noun a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else
    tool; puppet.

WordNet


Crea"ture noun
Etymology
F. crature, L. creatura. See Create.
Definitions
  1. Anything created; anything not self-existent; especially, any being created with life; an animal; a man.
    He asked water, a creature so common and needful that it was against the law of nature to deny him. Fuller.
    God's first creature was light. Bacon.
    On earth, join, all ye creatures, to extol Him first, him last, him midst, and without end. Milton.
    And most attractive is the fair result Of thought, the creature of a polished mind. Cowper.
  2. A human being, in pity, contempt, or endearment; as, a poor creature; a pretty creature.
    The world hath not a sweeter creature. Shak.
  3. A person who owes his rise and fortune to another; a servile dependent; an instrument; a tool.
    A creature of the queen's, Lady Anne Bullen. Shak.
    Both Charles himself and his creature, Laud. Macualay.
  4. A general term among farmers for horses, oxen, etc.

Webster 1913