vampires

Cultural

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.

Discover More

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.

Vampires in movies, deceitful husbands in plays, corrupt elected officials in office — their survival depends on the masses not knowing the truth.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2025

Vampires have always been a way for filmmakers to explore and explode society’s soft-spoken misdeeds.

From Salon • Dec. 24, 2024

He made the visit ahead of a Swansea Arena gig with his band Hollywood Vampires, which also features Alice Cooper, on Friday.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2023

Hermione closed Voyages with Vampires and looked down at the top of Ron’s head.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

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