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
Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 best-seller, the story follows the young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin), a vet school dropout who stumbles into a job with a down-and-out circus in the early 1930s.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Before the pandemic, in 2019, the dropout rate was 8.36%.
—Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024
The budding director was a film school dropout and had penned the screenplay while working at a New Jersey convenience store called the Quick Stop.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2024
Ken Fisher Fisher, a high school dropout turned college graduate, took $250 to start Fisher Investments.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Officials and lawmakers say a compromise is under discussion in which a few thousand seminary dropouts would be required to serve, but not those still studying.
—Johnatan Reiss, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Over time, both spacecraft have encountered unexpected issues and dropouts, including a seven-month period in 2020 when Voyager 2 couldn’t communicate with Earth.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
It was founded by college dropouts who were helping to invent Instagram virality in 2011 by sharing funny photos and captions—memes—on the nascent social app.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024
Patrick Frater, Variety, 14 May 2024
Host Drew Barrymore dropped out in a show of solidarity with the writers.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 May 2024
Commencement speakers removed, others drop out In addition to the protests, speakers themselves have either been removed from commencement plans or chose to drop out themselves.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
Unlike Shashi, Haresh struggled in school and dropped out at 14 to work in a diamond-processing factory near his family’s home in Palanpur.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
Meanwhile, on the same day Gitlin dropped out of the running, Calhoun expressed strong support for the top internal candidate, Pope.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 May 2024
At the time, Spacey was working as an extra in a Shakespeare production in Central Park after dropping out of Juilliard.
—Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024
Min dropped out of school in the ninth grade and took a job as a secretary.
—Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Yet, after launching her campaign amid hundreds of supporters at a private club in Clarkston, before dozens of local Republican leaders, Mary Margaret Patterson, whose married name is Mary Warner, quietly dropped out of the race against the incumbent Democrat, Dave Coulter of Ferndale.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 19 Apr. 2024
Noun
And there’s a dropout rate—PitchBook in February estimated that 37% of VCs who raised a first fund will not be able to raise a second.
—Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024
Adapted from Sara Gruen’s 2006 best-seller, the story follows the young Jacob Jankowski (Grant Gustin), a vet school dropout who stumbles into a job with a down-and-out circus in the early 1930s.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Before the pandemic, in 2019, the dropout rate was 8.36%.
—Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024
The budding director was a film school dropout and had penned the screenplay while working at a New Jersey convenience store called the Quick Stop.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2024
Ken Fisher Fisher, a high school dropout turned college graduate, took $250 to start Fisher Investments.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Officials and lawmakers say a compromise is under discussion in which a few thousand seminary dropouts would be required to serve, but not those still studying.
—Johnatan Reiss, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Over time, both spacecraft have encountered unexpected issues and dropouts, including a seven-month period in 2020 when Voyager 2 couldn’t communicate with Earth.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
It was founded by college dropouts who were helping to invent Instagram virality in 2011 by sharing funny photos and captions—memes—on the nascent social app.
—Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
In the film, middle-class girl Bona (Nora Aunor), drops out of high school to follow Gardo (Phillip Salvador), a minor actor in low-budget films.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 14 May 2024
Host Drew Barrymore dropped out in a show of solidarity with the writers.
—Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 May 2024
Commencement speakers removed, others drop out In addition to the protests, speakers themselves have either been removed from commencement plans or chose to drop out themselves.
—Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 12 May 2024
Unlike Shashi, Haresh struggled in school and dropped out at 14 to work in a diamond-processing factory near his family’s home in Palanpur.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024
Meanwhile, on the same day Gitlin dropped out of the running, Calhoun expressed strong support for the top internal candidate, Pope.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 May 2024
At the time, Spacey was working as an extra in a Shakespeare production in Central Park after dropping out of Juilliard.
—Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024
Min dropped out of school in the ninth grade and took a job as a secretary.
—Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, 3 May 2024
Yet, after launching her campaign amid hundreds of supporters at a private club in Clarkston, before dozens of local Republican leaders, Mary Margaret Patterson, whose married name is Mary Warner, quietly dropped out of the race against the incumbent Democrat, Dave Coulter of Ferndale.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 19 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dropout.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dropout
Cite this Entry
“Dropout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dropout. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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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