zombie

noun zom·bie \ ˈzäm-bē \

variants: or less commonly zombi

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of zombie

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

or zombie-like play \ˈzäm-bē-ˌlīk\ adjective

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

—

zomboid

play \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

See zombie defined for English-language learners

See zombie defined for kids

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 of zombie from the Web

An Apu makeover would solve the problem for the show going forward, but the original offensive version of the character will have a long half-life in syndication re-runs, not to mention the zombie existence provided by YouTube and gifs.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "My Epiphany About the Problem With Apu," 14 Apr. 2018
The problem was that those characters never really popped, despite their slow-motion ordeal surviving the zombie apocalypse.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Fear the Walking Dead' gets major makeover with Morgan's arrival," 13 Apr. 2018
For decades, parents worried videogames would transform their children into zombies spending countless hours alone with a controller in hand.

— sarah e. needleman, WSJ, "Why Parents Are Fans of Games Like ‘Fortnite’," 13 Apr. 2018
In due time, fans of the zombie apocalypse will drift away from Alexandria and move closer to Texas, as The Walking Dead season eight gives way to Fear the Walking Dead season four.

— josh wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Fear the Walking Dead': Where Everyone Left Off and What's Next (After the Big Crossover)," 8 Apr. 2018
Whereas most shooters have players aim their weapons at zombies, demons, or Nazis, Far Cry 5 takes place in Montana, and its enemies are American citizens who bear a strong resemblance to the stereotypical image of a modern, young white supremacist.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Far Cry 5’s half-hearted attempt at politics ruins the fun," 29 Mar. 2018
This collection of pale-faced swashbucklers moves toward the opposing ship with all the cunning of a hungry zombie.

— charlie theel, Ars Technica, "Rum and Bones: Second Tide," 17 Mar. 2018
Had Garoppolo not led the 49ers to that zombie-apocalypse 5-0 finish last season, meeting with the 49ers would have been lower on Sherman’s to-do list than sending a fruit basket to Michael Crabtree.

— scott ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, "In Jimmy Garoppolo and Richard Sherman, 49ers have their yin and yang," 11 Mar. 2018
Those same tonal swings seem perfect for the Far Cry 5 season pass content though—a trio of Blood Dragon-style spinoffs, one featuring zombies, one seemingly mimicking Rambo, and the last taking place on Mars.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: The Division 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII, Crash Bandicoot comes to PC, and Valve is "shipping games again"," 9 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of zombie

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1871

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Financial Definition of ZOMBIE

zombie

noun

What It Is

A zombie is a company that continues to operate even though its liabilities exceed its assets (in other words, it has a net worth of zero).

How It Works

Let's say Bank XYZ has $1 billion in assets (loans it has made to customers) and $2 billion in liabilities (delinquent loans, interest payments due to customers, debt it may have borrowed, etc.). Bank XYZ could declare bankruptcy and default on its obligations at any time, but for now it is still alive.

Why It Matters

Zombies are very risky investments because they could die at any time. However, some zombies might receive sudden financing, such as government bailouts or other money, which could prompt a turnaround that might make shareholders suddenly wealthy.

Source: Investing Answers

ZOMBIE Defined for English Language Learners

zombie

noun

Definition of zombie for English Language Learners

: a person who moves very slowly and is not aware of what is happening especially because of being very tired
: a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc.