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zombie

[ zom-bee ]
/ ˈzɒm bi /
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noun
adjective
of or relating to something that was declared concluded, finished, or dead, but surprisingly continues to linger, or comes back in a different version: 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.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as

Rarely zom·bi .

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”

OTHER WORDS FROM zombie

zom·bi·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use zombie in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for zombie

zombie

zombi

/ (ˈzɒmbÉȘ) /

noun plural -bies or -bis
a person who is or appears to be lifeless, apathetic, or totally lacking in independent judgment; automaton
a supernatural spirit that reanimates a dead body
a corpse brought to life in this manner
the snake god of voodoo cults in the West Indies, esp Haiti, and in scattered areas of the southern US
the python god revered in parts of West Africa
a piece of computer code that instructs an infected computer to send a virus on to other computer systems

Derived forms of zombie

zombiism, noun

Word Origin for zombie

from Kongo zumbi good-luck fetish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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