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vampires

Cultural  

  1. Originally part of central European folklore, they now appear in horror stories as living corpses who need to feed on human blood. A vampire will leave his coffin at night, disguised as a great bat, to seek his innocent victims, bite their necks with his long, sharp teeth, and suck their blood.

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The most famous vampire is Count Dracula, from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The minute they get a whiff of vampires and all that, they immediately check out.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

Energy vampires are everywhere, thirsty for a selfie or a sound bite or a Zoom.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

What do vampires and Hollywood have in common?

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

"Although obviously vampires are obviously involved, there's so much more to it."

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

Mixed with the spin of holographic stars, glimpses of pale faces with red-tonic-lined lips wash by like anemic vampires.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.