zombie

American  

[zom-bee] / ˈzɒm bi /

Rarely zombi

noun

• zombies
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• zombiism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• zombies
  plural

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

See Examples For:

zombie zombies

"It's like the zombie apocalypse sometimes and you can see they are completely away with it," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

It is a "zombie city," says 30-year-old resident Juan David Gaitan.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Sponsors say most continuation vehicles aren’t intended for zombie funds, as many buyers in the secondary market aren’t focused on impaired assets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

It has been declared ready to go — and declared dead, too — so often that it could serve as a character in a zombie movie or streaming series.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

But it did make me feel kind of like a zombie.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

Setup: The analog characters freak out—“We’re all just landfill now!”—when kids turn into little zombies staring at glowing screens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

His campaign underscored his attacks against Becerra by having a handful of supporters dressed as zombies speak outside of Becerra’s Sunday evening rally in Long Beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

But there are no zombies wandering around, just an eerie silence, with weeds growing through the 294 houses and a lake with no wildlife.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026

Yet despite the local ecclesiastical authorities approving the scene, the installation in central Brussels has come under fire online since opening on Friday, with right-wing Belgian politician Georges-Louis Bouchez even comparing the figures to "zombies".

From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025

In the background Hades fought from his black chariot, summoning wave after wave of zombies out of the ground, but the forces of the Titan’s army seemed just as endless.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

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