deadhead

[ ded-hed ]

/ ˈdɛdˌhɛd /

Informal.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deadhead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who attends a performance, sports event, etc., or travels on a train, airplane, etc., without having paid for a ticket, especially a person using a complimentary ticket or free pass.

a train, railroad car, airplane, truck, or other commercial vehicle while operating empty, as when returning to a terminal.

a stupid or boring person; dullard.

Metallurgy. excess metal in the riser of a mold.

a sunken or partially sunken log.

verb (used with object)

to transport (someone) as a deadhead.

to move (an empty commercial vehicle) along a route.

Horticulture. to remove faded blooms from (ornamental plants), especially in flower gardens, often to help continued blooming.

verb (used without object)

to act or serve as a deadhead.

(of a commercial vehicle) to travel without cargo or paying passengers: The train carried coal to Pittsburgh and then deadheaded back to Virginia to pick up another load.

Nearby words

deadboy, deaden, deadening, deadeye, deadfall, deadhead, deadlight, deadline, deadlock, deadly, deadly nightshade

Origin of deadhead

First recorded in 1570–80; dead + head

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deadhead

“The world perceives cannabis consumers as deadhead, unemployed people—our mission is to change that,” says Defalco.
Ganjapreneurs Flock to Colorado Following Marijuana Legalization|Abby Haglage, Caitlin Dickson|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was said that a deadhead could not borrow a sheet of writing paper in the capitol, nor in a county court-house.
Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama|Walter L. Fleming
You'll be a deadhead yourself if you ain't careful, young feller!
The Young Acrobat of the Great North American Circus|Horatio Alger Jr.
He travels from Ohio to the gulf, but not in a palace car nor on a deadhead ticket.
The Army Mule and Other War Sketches|Henry A. Castle

The farmer's features did not conceal his disgust when he discovered that his seat-mate was a deadhead.
The Railroad Question|William Larrabee
Each one who could recite or do anything did it, and it was appreciated by a deadhead audience, something unusual nowadays.
Adventures and Reminiscences of a Volunteer|George T. Ulmer

British Dictionary definitions for deadhead

deadhead

/ (ˈdɛdˌhɛd) /

noun

a dull unenterprising person

a person who uses a free ticket, as for a train, the theatre, etc

US and Canadian a train, etc, travelling empty

US and Canadian a totally or partially submerged log floating in a lake, etc

verb

(tr) to cut off withered flowers from (a plant)

(intr) US and Canadian to drive an empty bus, train, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012