zombie

noun zom·bie \ ˈzäm-bē \

variants: or less commonly zombi

|Updated on: 13 Jun 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

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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

But Game of Thrones works because beyond dragons and zombies, there are dozens of humans struggling for power.

— andrew sharp, SI.com, "Kevin Durant Won't Leave the Warriors, But Maybe He Should," 8 June 2018
Part of Angelica’s plan included hijacking the drone-zombie-sensates to do her bidding when necessary.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Sense8 Series Finale Recap: Farewell, International Orgies!," 8 June 2018
The selections do feature ghosts, zombies and a church with a giant mouth at its center, after all.

— michael berry, San Francisco Chronicle, "Science fiction and fantasy books: ‘Belly Up,’ ‘What Should Be Wild,’ ‘84K’," 7 June 2018
Same goes for zombie ants in the southern United States.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Climate Change Made Zombie Ants Even More Cunning," 29 May 2018
With Offred/June beginning to perk up following her zombie phase in episodes 4 and 5, the first six episodes of Season two have led in a circle to the restoration of the Waterford household status quo.

— rena gross, Billboard, "'The Handmaid's Tale': Season 2, Episode 6 Recap - 12 Haunting Moments From 'First Blood'," 23 May 2018
The video game is a constructable world of building cubes and creatures ranging from pigs to zombies to dragons.

— joey guerra, Houston Chronicle, "Minefaire returns to Houston with more 'Minecraft' than ever," 17 May 2018
Death is a lightning-spewing zombie on a white horse, spreading terror.

— thomas hine, Philly.com, "Benjamin West at PAFA: 'Death is a lightning-spewing zombie on a white horse, spreading terror'," 16 May 2018
Scout Island in City Park will be taken over by zombies and ghouls for a few select days, from Oct. 6 through Nov. 3.

— maria clark, NOLA.com, "City Park and The Mortuary will team up to open Scout Island Scream Park in October," 15 May 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.