deadbeats

noun

plural of deadbeat
as in slugs
a lazy person he snapped instructions to the deadbeats who were standing around watching the work pile up

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deadbeats In the film Rap World (which Bensinger also edited), Bensinger, O’Malley, and Rahill play suburban deadbeats eager to make an album, each man waylaid by his own hubris and distractions. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026 Housing prices and rents are inflated by restrictive zoning laws, union work and pay scale mandates, excessive building codes and environmental requirements, litigation and planning process delays, anti-landlord policies that favor deadbeats and squatters, and the list goes on. — Adam B. Summers, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadbeats
  1. slugs
  2. drones
  3. snails
  4. layabouts
  5. bums
  6. loafers
Noun
  • Families can learn about slugs, spiders, vultures and more during Creepy Critters Month at the Knoch Knolls Nature Center, 320 Knoch Knolls Road, a park district news release said.
    — Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • With the light load of powder that was behind them, these slugs couldn’t possibly have killed the tigress unless an extremely lucky shot had put them into a vital area at very close range.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of slugs
Noun
  • Riley was a direct inspiration on the record, and while the Bay Area composer did work with drones, his influence is more poignant here, in the way Schwendener breaks the melody down into pieces and moves them around.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Chinese media also reported that participating forces were stationed underground during the exercise to protect them from drone attacks, illustrating how persistent aerial surveillance and strike drones are changing battlefield operations.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of drones
Noun
  • The inflatable horses, butterflies, snails and other creatures were made by the New York artist and designer Katie Stout.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Aquarium officials received some 500 marine animals from that operation on June 19, taking in an array of fish, sharks, clams, shrimp, prawns and tiny snails.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of snails
Noun
  • And typically, Wegmann added, those units are occupied by productive, working adults, not layabouts or career criminals leeching off the system, as the old narrative goes.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
  • As the story begins, Mary and Boo are neighbors, unemployed millennial layabouts who rarely leave their rooms.
    — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
Definition of layabouts
Noun
  • Within the often zany and slapstick realm of Bob’s Burgers, Tina still manages to steal the show with her singular voice, romantic fantasies, and obsessions with unicorns and boy bums.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Kennedy’s Albany is a vital, violent place, a hothouse of gangsters, pool hustlers, bums, crooked politicians, and showgirls.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of bums
Noun
  • Wear them with your favorite vintage tee and sneakers or a polo tee and loafers for a casual ensemble, or slip on a sleek blouse and kitten heels for a night out with friends.
    — Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Men’s suede loafers and relaxed sandals offer a transition from formal to casual summer dressing.
    — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of loafers

Browse Nearby Words

deadbeat
deadbeats
deaden
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Cite this Entry

“Deadbeats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadbeats. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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