brain drain

noun

: the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another usually for better pay or living conditions

Examples of brain drain in a Sentence

Nothing has been done to stop the brain drain as more and more doctors move away from the area.

Recent Examples on the Web

For some, these professors’ career-changing decisions warn of a brain drain — a mass exodus of Texas’ most intellectually capable. —Milla Surjadi, Dallas Morning News, 19 Mar. 2026

From April 2020 to July 2025, 182,000 residents fled to other states, causing a demographic decline and a serious brain drain. —Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 16 Mar. 2026

Ederson, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne have all left since the start of last year, representing a pretty significant ‘brain drain’. —Sam Lee, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2026

The huge exodus is also a major brain drain for Ukraine. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 22 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brain drain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign