deadhead

¹ American  

[ded-hed] / ˈdɛdˌhɛd /

noun

1. 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.

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

3. a stupid or boring person; dullard.

4. Metallurgy. excess metal in the riser of a mold.

5. a sunken or partially sunken log.

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verb (used with object)

1. to transport (someone) as a deadhead.

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

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

verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a deadhead.

2. (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.

Deadhead ² American  

[ded-hed] / ˈdɛdˌhɛd /

noun

plural

Deadheads

1. a fan of the music of the Grateful Dead, particularly one who identifies with the surrounding subculture.

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deadhead British  

/ ˈdɛdˌhɛd /

noun

1. a dull unenterprising person

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

3. a train, etc, travelling empty

4. a totally or partially submerged log floating in a lake, etc

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verb

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

2. (intr) to drive an empty bus, train, etc

Other Word Forms

• non-Deadhead noun

Etymology

Origin of deadhead

First recorded in 1570–80; dead + head

Example Sentences

SemiCab says its technology reduced so-called deadhead miles by 70%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

Olga showed the girls how to deadhead roses and immediately delved into their lives.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2022

A few times, I donned gardening gloves and carried pruning shears outside to deadhead stems and prove to the neighbors that I was a real gardener, but the bees wouldn’t stand for it.

From Washington Post • Aug. 31, 2022

“They have a wonderful bloom in June and come back and bloom in July, and then they come back in August. You have to prune and deadhead them, but they’ll come back.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 13, 2018

For the same deadhead reason people climb mountains—it was there and I wanted to try it.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Related Words

• felon
• hoodlum
• juvenile delinquent
• lawbreaker
• offender
• wrongdoer