deadbeat
See also: dead beat
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]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.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]deadbeat (plural deadbeats)
- (derogatory) A lazy or irresponsible person who is often unemployed, often depending upon wealthy or otherwise financially independent people for support.
- A person who defaults on debts.
- 2016 September 9, Eric Andrew-Gee, “Why and how Ontarians change their names in the 21st century”, in The Globe and Mail[1], archived from the original on 3 October 2016:
- With a few exceptions, all those changes were published in the Ontario Gazette, a little-read compendium of government business that comes out every week. The province requires this by law, as do most Canadian jurisdictions, nominally to thwart fraudsters and deadbeats.
- (banking, slang, ironic) A customer who pays their credit card or loan balance in full and on time each month, thereby incurring no interest charges. (Compare revolver, who carries a balance and pays interest.)
- 2026 May 17, “"Deadbeat" Credit Card Users: Definition and Benefits”, in Investopedia[2], archived from the original on 5 October 2026:
- Deadbeat is slang for a credit card user who pays their balance in full and on time each month. […] A deadbeat is also called a "nonrevolver" or a "transactor." […] However, so-called deadbeats in the credit world also do not rack up bills they never pay, so they do not generate significant losses for credit card companies like real deadbeats, who do not pay their bills.
Synonyms
[edit]- (lazy person): see Thesaurus:idler
- (person who defaults on debts): shirker, welcher
Translations
[edit]lazy person, depending upon financially independent people for support — see also failure, lazybones
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Adjective
[edit]deadbeat (not comparable)
- (of an instrument) Having a damped needle that stops without oscillation.
- Defaulting on one's debts.
- Defeated or exhausted.
- (derogatory) Lazy or irresponsible.
- Dead tired.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]exhausted, dead tired — see also unreliable
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Categories:
- English compound terms
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English derogatory terms
- English terms with quotations
- en:Banking
- English slang
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- en:People
