critter
/ˈkrɪtə
/noun informal or dialect, chiefly North American
1A living creature; an animal.Even in my newly adopted home in Florida, I am still bewildered to see critters outside Animal Kingdom....
- The sounds of the desert animals - critters, as they call them here on the ranch - come at me from all directions.
- The predatory habits of these critters helps to control insect populations in many parts of the world.
1.1 [usually with adjective] A person of a particular kind: the old critter used to live in a shack...
- No word on how officials dealt with this ornery little critter, but judging by the general good temper of both voters and officials, my guess is that they simply made it stand in the corner for the rest of the evening.
- I was in The Big Tree Pub in Dublin before the match last week when I spotted some unfortunate critter in a Down jersey at the bar.
- What distinguishes him is that this little critter has a personality.
Origin
Early 19th century: variant of creature.