zombie

noun

zom·​bie ˈzäm-bē 

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

ˈzäm-bē-ˌlīk 

… 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 an improbable 23-19 win in Philly, the zombie 49ers will continue their march for at least another week; the division rival Seahawks are up next. —Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026

The Islamic Republic is today a zombie regime. —Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026

Chucheng Feng, a partner at Hutong Research in Beijing, is on the lookout for signs that the leadership will unleash anti-corruption forces on the problem this year, targeting and punishing local government officials who prop up zombie firms in order to ward off political backlash. —Andy Browne, semafor.com, 8 Jan. 2026

Disney has picked a zombie and a Raven for its IRL Flynn Rider and Rapunzel. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 7 Jan. 2026

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

Rhymes for zombie

• combi
• thrombi

Kids Definition

zombie

noun

zom·​bie

variants also zombi

ˈzäm-bē 

: 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