English
vampire
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈvæm.paɪ.ə(ɹ)/
Noun

vampire (plural vampires)

  1. A mythological undead creature said to feed on the blood of the living. [from earlier 18th c.]
  2. (colloquial) A person with the medical condition systemic lupus erythematosus, colloquially known as vampirism, with effects such as photosensitivity and brownish-red stained teeth.
  3. A blood-sucking bat; vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) [from later 18th c.]
  4. (figurative, derogatory) A person who drains one's time, energy, money, etc.
  5. (dated) A vamp: a seductive woman who exploits men.
    • 2004, David W. Menefee, The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era (page 4)
      "What followed this decision was exactly what we had expected: Mr. Fox, realizing that the public was tiring of Theda Bara in vampire roles, announced that he would star her in a production of Romeo and Juliet," she illustrated.
  6. (US, slang) A medical technician who works with patients' blood.
    • 2000, Tracie Peterson, Colorado Wings (page 373)
      "I draw blood from patients, and then I take it back to the lab and analyze it. Sometimes, the vampires do all the sticks, that is to say the lab assistants do all the blood collections." He grinned. "We have our own language at the lab."
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Verb

vampire (vampires, present participle vampiring; past and past participle vampired)

  1. (transitive, figurative) To drain of energy or resources.


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary