zombie

noun

zom·​bie ˈzäm-bē 

variants or less commonly zombi

1

a

: a will-less and speechless human (as in voodoo belief and in fictional stories) held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated

b

: the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body

2

a

: a person held to resemble the so-called walking dead

especially : automaton

b

: a person markedly strange in appearance or behavior

3

: a mixed drink made of several kinds of rum, liqueur, and fruit juice

zombielike adjective

or zombie-like

ˈzäm-bē-ˌlīk 

… a morning rush of zombielike office workers, all starved for caffeine and clamoring for cappuccino.

—Bob Filipczak

zomboid

ˈzäm-ˌbȯid 

adjective

This is a poetry eerily populated with ghosts and mummies and zomboid creatures who go on living though dead from love.

—Patrick McGarth

Examples of zombie in a Sentence

If I don't go to bed early I'll be a zombie tomorrow.

His students usually sat there in the classroom like zombies.

Recent Examples on the Web

These zombie ideas appear in the guise of old friends; insights, beliefs, practices and behaviors that are familiar, comfortable, and require little effort to slip into. —Bill Fischer, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Armed with a burrito, Edie rounded her car and sprinted to intercept the zombie. —Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 19 Nov. 2024

More terrifying props await on the inside, including the reaper puppet master, the next-door murderer trying to escape through a metal door, and lots of other creepy zombies, ghosts, and dark creatures. —Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Listen to this article A zombie ant, a pair of bats and a gorilla lurked around the shadiest alcoves of a Cook County forest preserve on Saturday, scouring the earth for decomposing life forms. —Peter Breen, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, of Bantu origin; akin to Kimbundu nzúmbe ghost

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

zombie

noun

zom·​bie

variants also zombi

ˈzäm-bē 

: a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will

Etymology

Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, of Bantu origin