vampire Hear it!

vampire definition

vam·pire (vam′pīr′)

noun

  1. Folklore a corpse that becomes reanimated and leaves its grave at night to suck the blood of sleeping persons
  2. an unscrupulous person who preys ruthlessly on others, as a blackmailer or usurer
  3. a beautiful but unscrupulous woman who seduces, exploits, and then ruins men
  4. vampire bat

Etymology: Fr < Ger vampir, of Slav orig., as in Serb vàmpīr

Related Forms:

  • vampiric vam·pir′ic (vam pir′ik) adjective or vampirish vam′·pir′·ish (vam′pīr′is̸h)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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