deadbeat
[ noun ded-beet; adjective ded-beet ]
/ noun ˈdɛdˌbit; adjective ˈdɛdˈbit /
noun
a person who deliberately avoids paying debts.
a loafer; sponger.
adjective
being a parent who neglects parental responsibilities, especially one who does not pay child support: deadbeat dads.
Horology.
noting any of various escapements acting without recoil of the locking parts from the shock of contact.
Electricity.
(of the indicator of an electric meter and the like) coming to a stop with little or no oscillation.
Words nearby deadbeat
dead-reckon,
dead-smooth,
dead-smooth file,
dead-stick landing,
dead-tree,
deadbeat,
deadbeat dad,
deadbolt,
deadboy,
deaden,
deadening
British Dictionary definitions for dead beat (1 of 2)
dead beat
adjective
informal
tired out; exhausted
British Dictionary definitions for dead beat (2 of 2)
deadbeat
/ (ˈdɛdˌbiːt) /
noun
informal
a lazy or socially undesirable person
mainly US
- a person who makes a habit of avoiding or evading his or her responsibilities or debts
- (as modifier)a deadbeat dad
a high grade escapement used in pendulum clocks
(modifier)
(of a clock escapement) having a beat without any recoil
(modifier) physics
- (of a system) returning to an equilibrium position with little or no oscillation
- (of an instrument or indicator) indicating a true reading without oscillation
Idioms and Phrases with dead beat
dead beat
Defeated; also exhausted. For example, That horse was dead beat before the race even began, or, as Charles Dickens put it in Martin Chuzzlewit (1843): “Pull off my boots for me ... I am quite knocked up. Dead beat.” [Slang; first half of 1800s]
Also, deadbeat. A lazy person or loafer; also, one who does not pay debts. For example, Her housemate knew she was a deadbeat, shirking her share of the chores, or He's a deadbeat; don't count on getting that money back. [Slang; second half of 1800s]