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

An innocent fellow named TimMet a zombie quite horrid and grim. —Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025

There’s a formal orange-tie ball, a giant pumpkin expo, ghost tours, zombie bar crawls, elaborate decoration contests and parades including Big Parade of Little People in Anoka’s quaint red-brick downtown. —Chris Kenning, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025

By comparison, Seoul Station tells us more about how the zombie virus began while also spinning a tight, impactful story centered on three compelling characters. —Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025

However, when the students have difficulty getting along, a cheerleader named Addison (Meg Donnelly) and a zombie named Zed (Milo Manheim) team up to unite them. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025

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