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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

critter en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkɹɪtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈkɹɪtɚ/ (General-American)
  • krĭtʹər (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

First attested 1815, from a dialectal pronunciation of creature.

Meanings

  1. (Australia, US, endearing, usually) A creature, and specifically, an animal or something animal-like.
    • The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard-to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile. 2013 July 26, Nick Miroff, “Mexico gets a taste for eating insects …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 32:
  2. (US) A small locomotive used in an industrial setting.
    • One of the biggest challenges facing a railfan photographer is the correct identification of one manufacturer's "critter" locomotive from that of another competing builder. 2025 March 7 (last accessed), R. Craig Rutherford, The Diesel Shop:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
critters Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

beastie

Deriveds

salescritter · crittercam · spokescritter · gendercritter · crotch critter · crispy critter · critterproof · congresscritter · fearsome critter · werecritter

Translations (23)

ru зверёк (a creature) · fi luontokappale (a creature) · fr bestiole (a creature) · it animaletto (a creature) · de Kreatur (a creature) · it bestiola (a creature) · ro creatură (a creature) · sv kreatur (a creature) · pl futrzak (a creature) · ru зверушка (a creature) · es críter (a creature) · es animalito (a creature) · cs stvoření (a creature) · cs tvor (a creature) · de Tier (a creature) · pl stworzonko (a creature) · ru зверюшка (a creature) · pt criatura (a creature) · fr bébête (a creature) · es bichito (a creature) · cs zvířátko (a creature) · cs brebera (a creature) · ro vietate (a creature)