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deadbeat
6 dictionary results for: Deadbeat
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dead·beat 
[n. ded-beet; adj. ded-beet] Pronunciation Key
[n. ded-beet; adj. ded-beet] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | a person who deliberately avoids paying debts. |
| 2. | a loafer; sponger. |
| 3. | being a parent who neglects parental responsibilities, esp. one who does not pay child support: deadbeat dads. |
| 4. | Horology. noting any of various escapements acting without recoil of the locking parts from the shock of contact. |
| 5. | Electricity. (of the indicator of an electric meter and the like) coming to a stop with little or no oscillation. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| dead·beat 1
(děd'bēt') Pronunciation Key
n.
adj. Not fulfilling one's obligations or paying one's debts: a deadbeat dad. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| dead·beat 2
(děd'bēt') Pronunciation Key
adj. Having an indicator that stops without oscillation. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
deadbeat
deadbeat
"worthless sponging idler," 1877, Amer.Eng. slang, from dead + beat; earlier used colloquially to mean "completely beaten" (1821).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| deadbeat | |
noun | |
| someone who fails to meet a financial obligation [syn: defaulter] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Deadbeat
Dead"beat`\, a. (Physics) Making a beat without recoil; giving indications by a single beat or excursion; -- said of galvanometers and other instruments in which the needle or index moves to the extent of its deflection and stops with little or no further oscillation. Deadbeat escapement. See under Escapement.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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