deadbeat

American  

[ded-beet] / ˈdɛdˌbit /

noun

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

2. Informal. a loafer; sponger.

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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 British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of deadbeat

First recorded in 1760–70; dead + beat

Example Sentences

Yes, many more deadbeats, and even the public housing authority is pleading for relief.

From The Wall Street Journal

Perhaps that’s because state and city laws make it difficult to evict deadbeats.

From The Wall Street Journal

He alienated many in his own profession, calling many fellow academics "dinosaurs", "deadbeats", "fossils" and "has-beens" in his autobiography, Avoid Boring People.

From BBC

The members must contrive to pay the new guy off, which means redeeming the deadbeat’s paper.

From The Wall Street Journal

“So, if some people interpret the album ‘Deadbeat’ as like, ‘deadbeat dad,’ that’s OK.”

From Los Angeles Times