Free CompTIA Linux+ XK0-005 Practice Question

A process that has completed execution but still has an entry in the process table is in the 'zombie' state. This occurs when a process has finished running, but its parent has not yet called wait() to read the child's exit status, leaving an entry in the process table as a 'zombie' that needs to be reaped. This is why the 'zombie' state is also sometimes referred to as a 'defunct' process. The other options are incorrect: 'running' is when a process is actively being executed; 'sleeping' is when a process is waiting for a resource or event; 'stopped' is when a process has been paused, typically by a signal, not when it has finished execution.