informal
: an animal : creature sense 1
Most of her sublime illustrations involve hippos and pigs, which are appealing critters, especially when they have a few chocolate smudges around the mouth.—
People Weekly
People WeeklyWhen the wind is blowing just so, the field is set afire on three sides, and all manner of critters get flushed out of one end—snakes, possums, raccoons, and rabbits, lots of rabbits.—Alexander Wolff
Alexander WolffFlies, gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, mites and lice pester your horse year-round. If you ignore them, these critters can cause your equine friend months of misery.—Charlene Strickland
—sometimes used of a personCharlene StricklandSale admits that humans, being the relatively big-brained critters we are, cannot do without technology …—M. Kujawa
M. KujawaExamples of critter in a Sentence
The woods are filled with skunks, raccoons, and other critters.
she's so fond of every kind of critter that she ought to be a veterinarian
Recent Examples on the Web
With the snake out of the tunnel and train traffic clear to commence, Mackenzie places the reptile in a netted bag to remove the critter from the home.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Researchers have seen that wild horses and burros will hog water tanks, streams, and other water sources — often to the detriment of native critters like deer and antelope, which are easily bullied by a big stallion.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 31 July 2025
Pointing to two of the oldest critters, mammalogist Stephanie Smith picked up the pair of chipmunks off the tray, balancing them in the palm of her hand.
—Lily Carey, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
That our bodies are awash in other critters is not a new discovery.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for critter
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Rachel Raposas, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Researchers have seen that wild horses and burros will hog water tanks, streams, and other water sources — often to the detriment of native critters like deer and antelope, which are easily bullied by a big stallion.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 31 July 2025
Pointing to two of the oldest critters, mammalogist Stephanie Smith picked up the pair of chipmunks off the tray, balancing them in the palm of her hand.
—Lily Carey, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
That our bodies are awash in other critters is not a new discovery.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for critter
Cite this Entry
“Critter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critter. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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