vampire

noun

• 1a corpse supposed, in European folklore, to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth.
• a person who preys ruthlessly on others:the protectionist vampires in the Congress

• 2 (also vampire bat) a small bat that feeds on the blood of mammals or birds using its two sharp incisor teeth and anticoagulant saliva, found mainly in tropical America. See also false vampire.

  • Family Desmodontidae (or Phyllostomidae): three species, in particular the common vampire (Desmodus rotundus)

• 3 (also vampire trap) Theatre a small spring trapdoor used for sudden disappearances from a stage.