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 The four-day schedule of frigid fun begins on Thursday, March 14, with a zombie bar crawl. Heather Mundt, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024 This refreshing comedy pokes fun at the zombie genre while lampooning classic horror films and couples retreat comedies. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 The Walking Dead, which featured the survivors of a zombie apocalypse trying to stay alive, ran for nine seasons. Anne Easton, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 As well as zombies and horror, the new slate goes long on romance series. Patrick Frater, Variety, 5 Feb. 2024 And that’s the thing: Either have a great zombie survival story about characters on the road trying to survive, or create an interesting post-apocalyptic world with various power centers that are, in some way, connected and in conflict with one another. Erik Kain, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The Walking Dead: World Beyond Taking place a decade after the onset of the zombie apocalypse, The Walking Dead: World Beyond follows a group of four teenagers on a cross-country trek to reconnect with and save their father. Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024 The former is ruled by inventive, tribal creatures, while the latter is filled with relatively generic zombies. Chris Stobing, PCMAG, 5 Feb. 2024 The ‘Don’t Stop Your Future’ campaign wants to ban zombie knives and machetes. Emma Ogao, ABC News, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zombie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near zombie

Cite this Entry

“Zombie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zombie. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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