deadbeat dad

noun

disapproving
: a father who owes money to his former wife to help raise their children but does not pay it

Examples of deadbeat dad in a Sentence

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The former couple is reportedly not getting along at the moment, especially after Hewitt accused Davidson of being a deadbeat dad to their daughter, Scottie Rose. Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 19 May 2026 Making the cut, however, is not enough for good ratings, and so the Network creates a fake new clickbait backstory for Richards, painting him as a deadbeat dad with a hooker for a wife. Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025 Finn mourns the loss of his arm by building a tower into space to punch his deadbeat dad. Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Oct. 2025

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“Deadbeat dad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadbeat%20dad. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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