deadhead

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: dead head, deadbeat, redhead, dead heat, meathead, dead end, dead-end, dead ahead, gearhead, beakhead, bedhead

Antonyms: dead head, deadbeat, redhead, dead heat, meathead, dead end, dead-end, dead ahead, gearhead, beakhead, bedhead

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Noun

1. A person either admitted to a [[theatrical]] or [[musical]] [[performance]] without charge, or paid to attend.
2. An employee of a [[transport]] company, especially a pilot or flight attendant, traveling as a passenger for [[logistical]] reasons, for example to return home or travel to the next assignment.
3. Anyone traveling for free, without paying the expected fare.
4. A [[train]] or [[truck]] moved between cities with no [[passenger]]s or [[freight]], in order to make it available for service.
5. A person staying at a lodging, such as a hotel or boarding house, without paying rent; [[freeloader]].
6. A stupid or boring person; [[dullard]].
7. A tree or tree branch fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable body of water, partially submerged or rising nearly the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk; [[snag]].
8. {{lb|en|slang}} Driftwood.
9. {{lb|en|slang}} {{alt form|en|Deadhead||fan of the rock band The Grateful Dead}}.
10. {{lb|en|slang}} A [[zombie]].

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[admit]] to a [[performance]] without [[charge]].
2. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To travel as a [[#Noun|deadhead]], or non-paying passenger.
3. {{lb|en|transitive|intransitive}} To [[drive]] an empty vehicle.
4. {{lb|en|transitive}} To send (a person or message) for free.
5. {{lb|en|horticulture}} {{lb|en|transitive}} To remove [[spent]] or [[dead]] [[blossom]]s from a [[plant]].

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.