drop·out
ˈdräp-ˌau̇t 
1
a
: one who drops out of school
b
: one who drops out of conventional society
c
: one who abandons an attempt, activity, or chosen path
a corporate dropout
2
: a momentary defect on a magnetic tape or disk caused by a temporary loss of signal
dropped out; dropping out; drops out
: to withdraw from participation or membership : quit
especially
: to withdraw from conventional society
Examples of dropout in a Sentence
Noun
The program is designed for dropouts who wish to get high school equivalency certificates.
Recent Examples on the Web
Paul Lamkin, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Mary Woulf was 22, a single mother and a college dropout.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2025
Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
The first lady, meanwhile, is on a safari in Africa and hard to pin down, and a moment where POTUS’ phone call with her drops out as 18 minutes turn into four and even fewer is one of an arsenal of devastating hammers Bigelow drops on you.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dropout
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Noun
Beyond sharper footage, the new cam brings zoom-and-crop up to 6x zoom, three hours of 10-second event previews, and a one-hour local storage backup for Wi-Fi dropouts.
—Paul Lamkin, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Mary Woulf was 22, a single mother and a college dropout.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
Jim Walden, independent candidate for New York City mayor, on Tuesday dropped out of the race while calling on other hopefuls to get behind the second-most popular choice in an effort to defeat New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
—Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
The first lady, meanwhile, is on a safari in Africa and hard to pin down, and a moment where POTUS’ phone call with her drops out as 18 minutes turn into four and even fewer is one of an arsenal of devastating hammers Bigelow drops on you.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dropout
Cite this Entry
“Dropout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dropout. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dropout
1 of 2 noun
drop·out
ˈdräp-ˌau̇t
: a person who drops out especially from a school or a training program
drop out
2 of 2 verb
: to withdraw from taking part or membership : quit
dropped out of school
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