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

But, when a zombie escapes a nearby military base, Dave, Miss Caroline, and a popular children's television host (Josh Gad) must band together to protect the young and fight off the walking dead. —Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026

Independent Film Company opens Adam MacDonald’s zombie thriller This Is Not a Test on 450 screens. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026

Pecola’s parents are in essence zombies—the walking dead. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026

Bella Ramsey takes a break from killing zombies and avenging father figures, their usual pastimes in series The Last of Us, to fool around and fall in love in Sunny Dancer, a decidedly uneven but fitfully charming, YA-skewed British comedy-drama. —Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 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