WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

zombie
    n 1: a dead body that has been brought back to life by a
         supernatural force [syn: zombi, zombie, living dead]
    2: (voodooism) a spirit or supernatural force that reanimates a
       dead body [syn: zombi, zombie, zombi spirit, zombie
       spirit]
    3: a god of voodoo cults of African origin worshipped especially
       in West Indies [syn: zombi, zombie, snake god]
    4: someone who acts or responds in a mechanical or apathetic
       way; "only an automaton wouldn't have noticed" [syn:
       automaton, zombi, zombie]
    5: several kinds of rum with fruit juice and usually apricot
       liqueur [syn: zombie, zombi]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

zombie

   1.  zombie process.

   2.  A ghost.

   [Jargon File]

   (1997-10-08)


The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

zombie
 n.

    1. [Unix] A process that has died but has not yet relinquished its process
    table slot (because the parent process hasn't executed a wait(2) for it
    yet). These can be seen in ps(1) listings occasionally. Compare orphan.

    2. A machine, especially someone's home box, that has been cracked and is
    being used as part of a second-stage attack by miscreants trying to mask
    their home IP address. Especially used of machines being exploited in large
    gangs for a mechanized denial-of-service attack like Tribe Flood Network;
    the image that goes with this is of a veritable army of zombies mindlessly
    doing the bidding of a necromancer.