(Or "defunct process") A Unixprocess that has terminated (either because it has been killed by a signal or because it has called exit()) and whose {parent process} has not yet received notification of its termination by executing (some form of) the wait() system call. A zombie process exists solely as a process table entry and consumes no other resources. This entry is retained to hold the child' s exit status until the parent process wants to retrieve it. The parent can also be notified asynchronously via a signal of the child' s termination. Zombie processes can be seen in "ps" listings occasionally (with a status "Z" in some versions). Compare orphan process. (1997-10-08)
