zombie

noun

zom·​bie ˈzäm-bē How to pronounce zombie (audio)
variants or less commonly zombi
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 adjective
or zombie-like
… a morning rush of zombielike office workers, all starved for caffeine and clamoring for cappuccino. Bob Filipczak
zomboid 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In theaters What do dinosaurs and zombies have in common? Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 29 June 2025 The reason behind Relay 2’s sudden burst is not clear, but the team has come up with two potential explanations—and neither involves the satellite coming back to life like a zombie. Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2025 Murphy was spotted running away from zombies last September, so there’s a good chance Jim’s back for more in Bone Temple. Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 24 June 2025 But once the group noticed that Ginny had already died and turned to a zombie, Maggie could not finish the job, and instead handed her knife to Negan to finish off the young girl. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 23 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for zombie

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of zombie was in 1928

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Zombie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zombie. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

zombie

noun
zom·​bie
variants also zombi
: a person who is believed to have died and been brought back to life without speech or free will
Etymology

Louisiana Creole or Haitian Creole zonbi, of Bantu origin

More from Merriam-Webster on zombie

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