Definition of "deadbeat" [dead• beat•beat]

• One who does not pay one's debts. (noun)
• A lazy person; a loafer. (noun)
• Not fulfilling one's obligations or paying one's debts: a deadbeat dad. (adjective)
• Having an indicator that stops without oscillation. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I've known about the term deadbeat dad for four years; it's nice to know that someone else in the Cayman Islands is reading about the laws in other countries."
• "From where I sit, a deadbeat is a deadbeat, regardless of color or education."
• "And again, we know now in the United States people are really -- governments are really cracking down on what they call deadbeat dad."