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
Since early construction began, many of the critters who used to frequent their backyards have already scattered.
—Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
Whichever predator was involved, Henrici notes that the regurgitalite confirms that one of these animals snacked broadly on the smaller critters around it and could vomit up indigestible material, much as modern owls and Komodo dragons do today.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2026
But at many shelters, including Marin Humane, there are lots of other critters looking for their forever homes.
—Lisa Bloch, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
Rosemary makes one of the best companion plants for apple trees because of its strong scent that's unpleasing to critters looking to snack on a juicy red apple.
—Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 16 Feb. 2026
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Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2026
Whichever predator was involved, Henrici notes that the regurgitalite confirms that one of these animals snacked broadly on the smaller critters around it and could vomit up indigestible material, much as modern owls and Komodo dragons do today.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2026
But at many shelters, including Marin Humane, there are lots of other critters looking for their forever homes.
—Lisa Bloch, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026
Rosemary makes one of the best companion plants for apple trees because of its strong scent that's unpleasing to critters looking to snack on a juicy red apple.
—Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for critter
Cite this Entry
“Critter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/critter. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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