1
: loafer
2
: one who persistently fails to pay personal debts or expenses
: having a pointer that gives a reading with little or no oscillation
Synonyms
Examples of deadbeat in a Sentence
Noun
His friends are just a bunch of deadbeats.
He was accused of being a deadbeat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 Oct. 2024
After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Brian Howey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Others may even cheer the hard line against supposedly deadbeat allies who in this view have taken advantage of American friendship for too long.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deadbeat 
Noun
The Season 4, Part 1 finale contains one whopper of a revelation: JJ’s deadbeat father, Luke, isn’t his real dad.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 Oct. 2024
After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Adjective
In cases where families sued, departments later used the information from those interviews to defend themselves in court, painting the deceased as mentally ill drug addicts and deadbeat parents in part to lower the cost of damages or settlements paid to families.
—Brian Howey, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Others may even cheer the hard line against supposedly deadbeat allies who in this view have taken advantage of American friendship for too long.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deadbeat
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deadbeat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Deadbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadbeat. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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