zombie

American  

[zom-bee] / ˈzɒm bi /

Rarely zombi

noun

1. (in Vodou)

   1. a mute and will-less body, robbed of its soul and given the semblance of life by a supernatural force, usually for manual labor or some evil purpose.

   2. the supernatural force itself.

2. (in popular culture) an undead creature with a reanimated human body, typically depicted in science fiction or horror stories as contagious to the living by bite and vulnerable only to serious head trauma.

   In the movie, survivors of the apocalypse try to build a barricade to keep the zombies out.

3. Informal.

   1. a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton.

   2. an eccentric or peculiar person.

4. a snake god worshiped in West Indian and Brazilian religious practices of African origin.

5. a tall drink made typically with several kinds of rum, citrus juice, and often apricot liqueur.

6. Canadian Slang. an army conscript assigned to home defense during World War II.

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adjective

1. of or relating to something that was declared concluded, finished, or dead, but surprisingly continues to linger, or comes back in a different version: resuscitating zombie corporations through debt restructuring;

   zombie legislation that was defeated last session;

   resuscitating zombie corporations through debt restructuring;

   a zombie ex who texts you out of the blue looking for a hookup.

zombie British  

/ ˈzɒmbɪ /

noun

1. a person who is or appears to be lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in independent judgment; automaton

2. a supernatural spirit that reanimates a dead body

3. a corpse brought to life in this manner

4. the snake god of voodoo cults in the West Indies, esp Haiti, and in scattered areas of the southern US

5. the python god revered in parts of West Africa

6. a piece of computer code that instructs an infected computer to send a virus on to other computer systems

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Other Word Forms

• zombiism noun

Etymology

Origin of zombie

First recorded in 1810–20; from Louisiana French, Haitian Creole zonbi, from a Bantu language, e.g., Kongo nzambi “god,” zumbi “fetish,” or Kimbundu nzambi “god”

Explanation

If you've ever watched a zombie movie, you know that a zombie is a terrifying but slow-moving monster, a dead body that moves as if it's alive and has a taste for human flesh. There is an entire literary genre that features zombies and the people who are hunting or fighting them off, as well as scores of films about zombies. A zombie is an ideal movie monster, horrible to look at and nearly impossible to kill. The word zombie comes from West Africa, related to both the Kikongo word zumbi, or "fetish," and the Kimbundu word nzambi, or "god."

Example Sentences

These lingering cells, often called "zombie cells," remain active in tissues and release a steady stream of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding cells.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026

Debunked claims routinely resurface across platforms awash with fakes, a pattern some researchers call "zombie" misinformation.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

“It doesn’t matter why a flight is canceled — it can be because of bad weather, security issues or a zombie apocalypse,” said Teresa Murray, consumer-watchdog director at the U.S.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

The BBC has no reason to believe the Serena is a zombie vessel, but the ship's former engineer says he saw equipment that would enable the Serena to fake its position.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

“She’s like a zombie or something,” says Grace One.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

Related Words

• demon
• devil
• phantom
• shadow
• soul
• specter
• vampire
• vision