plural crias
: a baby llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco
… the scarcity of alpacas is based on their slow rate of reproduction, since females usually deliver one baby, called a cria, per year.Glenn Collins

Examples of cria in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Llamas give birth standing up and usually have a single cria every one to two years, Leslie said. René A. Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Feb. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cria.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish cría "rearing (of an animal), baby animal, litter," noun derivative of criar "to bring up, rear, nurse," going back to Latin creāre "to bring into being, give birth to, cause to grow" — more at create entry 1

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cria was in 1984

Dictionary Entries Near cria

Cite this Entry

“Cria.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cria. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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