vampire

In popular folklore, an undead being in human form that survives by sucking the blood of living people, especially at night.

A person, such as an extortionist, who takes advantage of others, especially for personal gain.

A vampire bat.

A kind of spectral being or ghost still possessing a human body, which, according to a superstition existing among the Slavic and other races on the lower Danube, leaves the grave during the night, and maintains a semblance of life by sucking the warm blood of living men and women while they are asleep.

Hence, a person who preys on others; an extortioner or blood-sucker.

Same as vampire-bat.

Theat., a small trap made of two flaps held together by a spring, used for sudden appearances and disappearances of one person.

Of or pertaining to a vampire; resembling a vampire in character; blood-sucking; extortionate; vampiric.

A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition was once prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730. The vampire was often said to have the ability to transform itself into the form of a bat, as presented in the novel depicting the legend of Dracula published by Bram Stoker in 1897, which has inspired several movies.

Fig.: One who lives by preying on others; an extortioner; a bloodsucker.