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

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

He laughed when I asked whether the U.S. could become a deadbeat borrower or release tainted data.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

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.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2025

Shortly before Potter was sacked last year she liked a tweet which called the Englishman a "deadbeat" manager who "doesn't know what he is doing".

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2024

Clara, a housewife stuck in a deadbeat marriage, understands the feeling all too well.

From New York Times • May 11, 2023

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

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow