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

When nighttime falls, the game’s friendly parkgoers turn into zombies and ghosts who chase the park ranger, armed with nothing but a Frisbee deployed by the keyboard’s space bar. — Elizabeth Hernandez, Denver Post, 9 July 2026

Fortunately, Bagley’s cast doesn’t hold back in this slight but fun effort that features witches, zombies and other underground dwellers. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

Sánchez’s entry features industrious zombies hot on the tails of some cyclists, while Evans’ installment (the best here) deals with a demented doomsday cult. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026

Better yet, this is a collaboration between Japan’s Toho Studios and Korean producer and writer, Yeon Sang-ho, whose work includes Train To Busan, one of the best zombie movies of all time. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 4 July 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