deadbeat

[ded-beet]

noun

1. Informal.,  a person who deliberately avoids paying debts or neglects responsibilities.

2. Informal.,  a loafer; sponger.

adjective

1. Informal.,  not paying one's debts or neglecting one's responsibilities.

   a deadbeat parent who won't pay for college;

   deadbeat borrowers.

2. Horology.,  noting any of various timepiece escapements that act without recoil of the locking parts from the shock of contact.

3. Electricity.,  (of the indicator of an electric meter and the like) coming to a stop with little or no oscillation.

deadbeat

/ ˈdɛdˌbiːt /

noun

1. informal,  a lazy or socially undesirable person

2. 1. a person who makes a habit of avoiding or evading his or her responsibilities or debts

   2. ( as modifier )

      a deadbeat dad

3. a high grade escapement used in pendulum clocks

4. (modifier) (of a clock escapement) having a beat without any recoil

5. (modifier) physics

   1. (of a system) returning to an equilibrium position with little or no oscillation

   2. (of an instrument or indicator) indicating a true reading without oscillation

Word History and Origins

Origin of deadbeat¹

First recorded in 1760–70; dead + beat

Example Sentences

"You had two faces," the prosecutor Nanette Rogers said, after making Erin read aloud expletive-laden Facebook messages in which she had called Simon a "deadbeat" and his parents "a lost cause".

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Just prepare yourself for a Frankensteined dog cop, a killer cyber fish, a plethora of puns and . . . a surprisingly empowering message about how we should regard deadbeat cat dads.

Read more on Salon

He and Evans never find their groove, and while Evans’ Boston-accented deadbeat cad routine is rote for him at this point, Johnson feels adrift, never locking in to a specific tone.

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When some of the families later sued, authorities often used information from those interviews to portray the deceased as mentally ill criminals or deadbeat parents while defending their agencies in court.

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And it's especially rich for the notorious deadbeat Trump to lecture anyone about paying bills.

Read more on Salon