zombie

noun

zom·bie | \ ˈzäm-bē

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

\ adjective

… 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

After chronicling the zombie apocalypse in World War Z, author Max Brooks has a new monster in mind: the sasquatch. — Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'World War Z' Author Trades Zombies For Bigfoot in New Novel, 'Devolution' (Exclusive Excerpt)," 23 Aug. 2019 The Vast of Night, while the second runner-up was Jeff Barnaby's indigenous zombie drama Blood Quantum. — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, "Toronto: Taika Waititi's 'Jojo Rabbit' Wins Audience Award," 15 Sep. 2019 Tickets include unlimited free drinks - including alcoholic beverages -entrance to a zombie paintball attraction, live concerts and a weekend parking pass, according to the Scream Fest website. — Rebecca Hennes, Houston Chronicle, "When Houston-area haunted houses open for the fall 2019 season," 6 Sep. 2019 And speaking of scary, this year’s Backlot party will be overrun with zombies! — Luann Gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week in Cincinnati: Sept. 3-8," 3 Sep. 2019 When: October 19-26, 2019 This week-long festival, which has been celebrated for 73 years, brings together the Irvington community with a street fair, masquerade ball, zombie bike ride, vampire run, spaghetti supper, and several more unique events. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "24 Halloween Celebrations Across America to Spook Your Socks Off," 8 July 2019 Today, nearly all of the facilities and much of the housing have fallen into decay, and many streets elicit inevitable comparisons to ghost towns and zombie movies. — Author: Paxson Woelber, Anchorage Daily News, "Trekking into the storm-battered, golden beauty of Adak Island," 17 June 2019 Fans of zombie movies will be disappointed that Jarmusch ignores the genre’s scary points. — Armond White, National Review, "The Dead Don’t Die: Climate-Change Comedy for the Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez Era," 14 June 2019 So how have low interest rates helped create all these zombies? — Chris Taylor, Fortune, "Why ‘Zombie’ Companies Are on the Rise—and Could Pose a Threat to the U.S. Economy," 2 Sep. 2019

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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More Definitions for zombie

zombie

noun

Financial Definition of zombie

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

noun