D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

dead beat

/(dĕd`bēt")/ · dead· beat · IPA
01 n. a loafer, sponger, or swindler; especially, one who does not pay his debts. Same as Beat, n., 7.
  1. 1.
    a loafer, sponger, or swindler; especially, one who does not pay his debts. Same as Beat, n., 7.[Low, U.S.] See: Beat