# vampire

Pronunciation: US say "VAM-py-ur" /ˈvæm.paɪ.ə(ɹ)/; AUS say "VAM-py-uh" /ˈvæm.paɪ.ə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A mythological creature, usually undead and human in form, said to feed on the blood or life energy of the living.
   - Simple: In stories, a dead person who still walks and feeds on the blood or life of the living.
   - _The villagers hung garlic over their doors to keep the vampire away._
   - _In many of the old tales, vampires cannot cross running water._
2. A person who drains other people's time, energy, money, or other resources.
   - Simple: A person who takes too much of your time, energy, or money.
   - _After an hour with that emotional vampire, I needed a nap._
   - _Her ex-husband turned out to be a financial vampire who left her with nothing but debt._
3. A person, usually described in jest, with habits linked to vampires, such as avoiding sunlight, staying up all night, or having very pale skin. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who stays up all night, hides from the sun, or has very pale skin.
   - _Ever since she started working nights, her friends have called her a vampire._
   - _I'm a vampire in summer and wear a hat and sunscreen just to cross the parking lot._
4. A bat that feeds on blood, especially the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus.
   - Simple: A bat that drinks the blood of other animals.
   - _The vampire crept along the ground on its folded wings before biting the cow's ankle._
   - _Ranchers in the region lose calves to rabies spread by vampires._
5. A medical technician who works with patients' blood, especially one who draws it. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A hospital worker who takes blood from patients.
   - _Patients on the ward groaned when the vampire arrived with her cart of tubes at dawn._
   - _The lab's vampires drew blood from forty patients before breakfast._

## Noun

6. A seductive woman who uses her charms to exploit men. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A woman who uses her beauty and charm to take advantage of men.
   - _After years of playing vampires who lured rich men to ruin, the actress begged the studio for a comedy._
   - _In the old melodrama, the heroine's rival is a vampire who charms rich men with her beauty and then leaves them penniless._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To drain a person or thing of energy or resources.
- (noun) An anti-ship missile, especially an incoming hostile one.

## Origin

The word started as a Slavic term, probably Serbo-Croatian vàmpīr, which came from Proto-Slavic *ǫpyrь. German borrowed it as Vampir, French took it from German as vampire, and English took it from French. Oupire is a doublet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vampire (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).