deadbeat

American  

[ded-beet] / ˈdɛdˌbit /

noun

• deadbeats
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• deadbeats
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of deadbeat

First recorded in 1760–70; dead + beat

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Explanation

A deadbeat is someone who owes money or has other financial obligations and doesn't meet them. Deadbeats don't pay their bills. This is an insult that is very specific: deadbeats don't pay what they owe. If someone went to a restaurant and didn't pay, the manager might say "You deadbeat!" If you don't pay a cable or phone bill, you're a deadbeat. A roommate who doesn't pay their share of the rent is a deadbeat. People often talk about deadbeat dads who abandon their children and don't pay child support. A more formal word for a deadbeat is defaulter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deadbeat deadbeats

I’m calling my shot: This will be the year that the Three Lions, the bungling, deadbeat clown show of international soccer, finally do it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

The fish-out-of-water comedy show followed the wealthy Rose family as they abruptly lose their money and mansion, and are forced to move into a shabby motel in a deadbeat town they bought as a joke.

From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026

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.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024

Some critics say that the relationship between the couple is portrayed as too loving but Scorsese never pretends to hide the motivations that drive a deadbeat, grifter like Ernest.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2023

A picture emerged of an unstable deadbeat, swindler, and failed lawyer and lecturer.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

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 ● Nov. 7, 2025

Meanwhile, the three children raised predominantly in Gilmer became total deadbeats.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021

We take fatherhood very seriously, calling out bad dads and disassociating ourselves from deadbeats.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2020

I was down to a day and a half a week when Valencia called a mover to cart a load of furniture to an apartment she'd rented for one of the deadbeats.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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