1
: one who has not paid for a ticket
2
: a dull or stupid person
3
: a partially submerged log
4
Deadhead
: a devoted fan of the rock group the Grateful Dead
The bond between the [Grateful] Dead and the Deadheads was extraordinary.—
Bill Barich
Bill Barich5
gardening
: a faded blossom on a flowering plant
Pansies are still available for late spring bloom. Keep deadheads off.—Edith Henderson
Edith Henderson
deadheaded; deadheading; deadheads
: to remove the faded flowers of (a plant) especially to keep a neat appearance and to promote reblooming by preventing seed production
Examples of deadhead in a Sentence
Noun
people knew that he was a deadhead and voted for him anyway
Verb
She's out in the garden deadheading the rosebushes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
Deadheads can tune in to listen to hi-res recordings from the Grateful Dead’s legendary vault on the brand new Play Dead app.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 12 May 2026
Also try forget-me-nots which bloom profusely in pale blue in spring; deadhead them to keep them from reseeding too much, but new plants are easy to pull up.
—Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadhead
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Noun
Pinch back the growing tips to encourage the plant to be more bush-like, and deadhead spent flowers.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
Deadheads can tune in to listen to hi-res recordings from the Grateful Dead’s legendary vault on the brand new Play Dead app.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
Verb
The new flowers hide old, spent blooms which eventually drop their petals, so there is no need to deadhead.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 12 May 2026
Also try forget-me-nots which bloom profusely in pale blue in spring; deadhead them to keep them from reseeding too much, but new plants are easy to pull up.
—Peg Aloi, The Spruce, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadhead
Cite this Entry
“Deadhead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deadhead. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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