vampire

play

noun vam·pire \ˈvam-ˌpī(-ə)r\

Definition of vampire

1 : the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep
2a : one who lives by preying on othersb : a woman who exploits and ruins her lover
3 : vampire bat

vampiric

play \vam-ˈpir-ik\ adjective

vampirish

play \ˈvam-ˌpī(-ə)r-ish\ adjective

See vampire defined for English-language learners

See vampire defined for kids

Examples of vampire in a Sentence

regarded debt collectors as vampires who made a living from the misery of others

Recent Examples of vampire from the Web

The Girls star is officially joining Murphy's kooky world of latex monsters, catty witches, lobster people, and Lady Gaga vampires.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Lena Dunham Is Joining the Cast of 'American Horror Story'," 20 July 2017
John Robert Lindsey made a properly evil Monostatos (a dead ringer for the vampire Nosferatu), accompanied by terrifying dogs rather than slaves.

— janelle gelfand, Cincinnati.com, "'The Magic Flute' a surreal visual extravaganza," 16 July 2017
Stephen Moyer, who played the lead vampire on the series, wrote a short essay about his time with Ellis, capturing exactly what made the actor’s performance so indelible.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Third Time’s a Charm for Spider-Man," 10 July 2017
Ellis’s Lafayette was a cook at a diner who dealt drug-like vampire blood on the side.

— vanityfair.com, ""Little Boxes" Premiere - 2016 Tribeca Film Festival," 9 July 2017
Ellis was best known for playing a flamboyant, cross-dressing, short-order cook in all seven seasons of the HBO vampire series 'True Blood.'

— anna claire vollers, AL.com, "'True Blood' stars mourn Nelsan Ellis, Bessemer native, dead at 39," 9 July 2017
YOUR COMPLAINT: Sometimes when the conductor says there is another train behind us, there is no train—only a cloud of vampire bats.

— jason o. gilbert, GQ, "A Memo from Governor Cuomo to New Yorkers About the Busted Subway System," 30 June 2017
In one part of the exhibit, a vampire bat flies away from its mount.

— jennifer billock, Smithsonian, "Five Augmented Reality Experiences That Bring Museum Exhibits to Life," 30 June 2017
Among them are the little brown bats and big brown bats, which are common in Michigan, and tiny vampire bats, which typically survive on cow blood.

— john wisely, Detroit Free Press, "Why 250 bats just moved into downtown Pontiac," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vampire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.