What does "deadhead" mean?
A person either admitted to a theatrical or musical performance without charge, or paid to attend.
Deadhead
/ˈdɛdhɛd/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person either admitted to a theatrical or musical performance without charge, or paid to attend.
- Grammar: deadhead is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: audience, bum, claqueur, clip.
- Useful contrasts: casual fan, fresh bloom, go getter.
- Usage evidence: Among the Romans.... The free admission tickets were small ivory death's heads, and specimens of these are to be seen in the Museum of Naples. From this custom, it is stated, that we derive our word “Deadhead,” as denoting one who has a free entrance to places of amusement.
How to use "deadhead"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "deadhead" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "deadhead" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "deadhead" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person either admitted to a theatrical or musical performance without charge, or paid to attend.
"Among the Romans.... The free admission tickets were small ivory death's heads, and specimens of these are to be seen in the Museum of Naples. From this custom, it is stated, that we derive our word “Deadhead,” as denoting one who has a free entrance to places of amusement."
- 2 A fan of the rock band Grateful Dead. slang
"Out on the road today / I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac"
- 3 a train or bus or taxi traveling empty wordnet
- 4 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.
"Are you my deadhead to Miami?"
- 5 a nonenterprising person who is not paying their way wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Anyone traveling for free, without paying the expected fare.
"With the check came two through tickets—good on the railroad from Hawkeye to Washington via New York—and they were “deadhead” tickets, too, which had been given to Senator Dilworthy by the railway companies. Senators and representatives were paid thousands of dollars by the government for traveling expenses, but they always traveled “deadhead” both ways, and then did as any honorable, high-minded men would naturally do—declined to receive the mileage tendered them by the government. The Senator had plenty of railway passes, and could. easily spare two to Laura—one for herself and one for a male escort."
- 7 A train or truck moved between cities with no passengers or freight, in order to make it available for service.
- 8 A person staying at a lodging, such as a hotel or boarding house, without paying rent; freeloader.
"For the Caput mortuum (or deadhead, in vulgar phrase) is apt to be furnished with a Venter vivus, or, as we may say, a lively appetite."
- 9 A stupid or boring person; dullard.
"1967, James Jones, Go to the Widow-Maker, Delacorte Press (1967), 72, “Listen, you two deadheads,” he growled at them, more viciously energetic than he meant, and both turned to stare. He softened his tone. “What's going on here, anyway? What kind of a morgue is this? Is this any way to spend my last four days in town? Come on, let's all go out and do something.”"
- 10 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.
"A portable sawmill crew dredges the riverbed for sunken deadheads, many of which drowned during the hell-for-leather log-drives of the glory days. Rows of these mud-stained corpses are drawn up on shore at the old landings—all in perfect condition, and some of great value, for no such pine exists in the north woods today."
- 11 Driftwood. slang
- 12 Alternative form of Deadhead (“fan of the rock band The Grateful Dead”). alt-of, alternative, slang
- 13 A zombie. slang
"I was dreaming about working at Wal-Mart before the deadheads came."
Verb
- 1 To admit to a performance without charge. transitive
"[…] the "puffing" system in criticism, whereby newspaper people were deadheaded in exchange for complimentary notices."
- 2 To travel as a deadhead, or non-paying passenger. intransitive
- 3 To drive an empty vehicle. intransitive, transitive
"Kit had fallen into conversation with a footplate man who was deadheading back out to Samarkand, where he lived with his wife and children."
- 4 To send (a person or message) for free. transitive
"Washington suggested that she get some old friend of the family to come with her, and said the Senator would “deadhead” him home again as soon as he had grown tired, of the sights of the capital."
- 5 (transitive) To remove spent or dead blossoms from a plant.
"If you deadhead your roses regularly, they will bloom all season."
Antonyms
casual fanfresh bloomgo getterlive bloom
Example
"Among the Romans.... The free admission tickets were small ivory death's heads, and specimens of these are to be seen in the Museum of Naples. From this custom, it is stated, that we derive our word “Deadhead,” as denoting one who has a free entrance to places of amusement."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "deadhead"?
Common synonyms include: audience, bum, claqueur, clip, devotee, empty run.
How do you use "deadhead" in a sentence?
Among the Romans.... The free admission tickets were small ivory death's heads, and specimens of these are to be seen in the Museum of Naples. From this custom, it is stated, that we derive our word “Deadhead,” as denoting one who has a free entrance to places of amusement.
How do you pronounce "deadhead"?
Pronounced /ˈdɛdhɛd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From dead + head. Some senses are derived from theater jargon (originally spelled dead head) for audience members admitted without paying, which probably arose in analogy to dead weight or deadwood in reference to their lack of contribution to revenue or in reference to their unenthusiastic (dead) response to performances. Perhaps even from Latin caput mortuum, alchemy term for distillation residue. As Paul Quinion writes: Similarly, the term was applied to a dull or lazy person, one who contributes nothing to an enterprise, only in the early years of the twentieth century, well after the theatrical and transport senses had become well established.
Etymology 2
From (Grateful) Dead + -head.