English Reference
Noun

deadbeat

n. countable
C1 Advanced US /ˈdɛdˌbit/ UK /dˈɛdbiːt/ dead·beat UK spelling deadbeats

n.a person who does not pay their bills or debts. It is a rude word for someone who is lazy and always in trouble with the law.

n.a person who habitually fails to pay debts or bills; a lazy, irresponsible person.


SIMPLE

He is a deadbeat who never pays his rent on time.

CONTEXTUAL

The landlord threatened to call the police after the deadbeat refused to leave the apartment or pay the overdue bills.


From dead + beat. As an adjective, of a person, to be exhausted, first use appears c. the 1820s. During the American Civil War, it also became a derogatory adjective, in the sense of "a person that defaults on their debts or avoids responsibilities" and "sponger", "vagabond". This sense dates from c. 1863. Possibly related to good for nothing.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated