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zombie

noun
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zom·​bie | \ ˈzäm-bē How to pronounce zombie (audio) \
variants: or less commonly zombi

Definition of zombie

1a : 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
2a : 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
Other Words from zombie Example Sentences Learn More about zombie

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Other Words from zombie

zombielike or zombie-like \ ˈzäm-​bē-​ˌlīk How to pronounce zombie-like (audio) \ adjective
… a morning rush of zombielike office workers, all starved for caffeine and clamoring for cappuccino. — Bob Filipczak
zomboid \ ˈzäm-​ˌbȯid How to pronounce zomboid (audio) \ 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 Vallow had also called Tylee a zombie last year, the friend says, according to the affidavit. — Steve Almasy, CNN, "Cell phone pings from Lori Vallow's late brother led investigators to the bodies of her children," 20 June 2020 This new wrinkle, mixed with Part 2's sprawling approach to protagonists and supporting characters, perhaps looks best through the lens of other modern zombie television series. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "The Last of Us Part 2 review: A less confident, less focused sequel," 12 June 2020 That’s fine because everyone is either quickly killed or turns into a zombie! — Rachel Paige, refinery29.com, "Let Us Walk You Through The Bonkers Ending Of Netflix’s Reality Z," 11 June 2020 These take the form of Runners, the standard zombie, Clickers, the very blind, but very lethal echo-locators and more. — Benjamin Levin, CNN Underscored, "The Last of Us Part II left us amazed, yet despondent," 15 June 2020 Still, Waugh, who died in 1966, might have been shocked by the next stage in this zombie afterlife. — The Economist, "The Flyte club Published 75 years ago, “Brideshead Revisited” set off a lasting cult," 11 June 2020 Renck has also worked on Breaking Bad, Vikings, and that other zombie thriller, The Walking Dead. — James Hibberd, EW.com, "HBO's The Last of Us TV series chooses pilot director," 8 June 2020 If flu-pandemic books make cold sufferers anxious and zombie books make agoraphobics jittery, here’s something to rattle the Zyrtec set. — Daniel Kraus, New York Times, "A Few Brave Kids Battle a Toxic World," 16 May 2020 The other common way dreams incorporate the pandemic is through replacing the virus with a fantastical symbol, like zombies or an insect swarm. — Rebecca Renner, National Geographic, "Kids are having pandemic dreams too," 11 May 2020

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.

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First Known Use of zombie

circa 1871, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

History and Etymology for zombie

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

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Time Traveler for zombie

Time Traveler

The first known use of zombie was circa 1871

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Statistics for zombie

Last Updated

30 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Zombie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zombie. Accessed 11 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for zombie

zombie

noun
How to pronounce zombie (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of zombie

informal : 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.

See the full definition for zombie in the English Language Learners Dictionary

zombie

noun
zom·​bie
variants: also zombi \ ˈzäm-​bē \

Kids Definition of zombie

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

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More from Merriam-Webster on zombie

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for zombie

Spanish Central: Translation of zombie

Nglish: Translation of zombie for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of zombie for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about zombie

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