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

This is still the NFL, where winless teams can rise like zombie undead, bite you on the backside and infect your season. — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026

One senator can force a week of debate on a popular bill, the government often runs on zombie continuing resolutions, and securing an amendment vote often requires consent from all 100 senators. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026

And the zombie is this thing that prevents that reconnection and that ultimate freedom. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026

When zombies attack their high school, a group of scrappy theater kids realizes that their only hope for survival is to put on the greatest musical of their lives. — Joe Otterson, Variety, 6 Oct. 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