deadbeat

1 of 2

noun

dead·​beat ˈded-ˌbēt 

1

: loafer

2

: one who persistently fails to pay personal debts or expenses

deadbeat

2 of 2

adjective

: having a pointer that gives a reading with little or no oscillation

Synonyms

Noun

• couch potato
• do-nothing
• drone
• idler
• layabout
• lazybones
• loafer
• lotus-eater
• slouch
• slug
• slugabed
• sluggard

Examples of deadbeat in a Sentence

Noun

His friends are just a bunch of deadbeats.

He was accused of being a deadbeat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Season 4, Part 1 finale contains one whopper of a revelation: JJ’s deadbeat father, Luke, isn’t his real dad. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 Oct. 2024

After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024

Adjective

In cases where families sued, departments later used the information from those interviews to defend themselves in court, painting the deceased as mentally ill drug addicts and deadbeat parents in part to lower the cost of damages or settlements paid to families. —Brian Howey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024

Others may even cheer the hard line against supposedly deadbeat allies who in this view have taken advantage of American friendship for too long. —Peter Baker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1863, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1864, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing deadbeat

• deadbeat dad

Kids Definition

deadbeat

noun

dead·​beat

ˈded-ˌbēt

: one who fails to pay his or her debts