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
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
Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
The final straw was painting him as a deadbeat stepfather to Echevarria’s two sons, Frankie and Peter, which he flat-out denied.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 25 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for deadbeat
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Noun
The world’s biggest deadbeat has passed the begging bowl again.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
The final straw was painting him as a deadbeat stepfather to Echevarria’s two sons, Frankie and Peter, which he flat-out denied.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Debra and Pam married well — very well — until their money ran out because of their husbands’ medical issues, unpaid taxes, bad investments and deadbeat ways.
—Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 25 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for deadbeat
Cite this Entry
“Deadbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadbeat. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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