brain drain

Definition of brain drain

: 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 The region needs to retain substantially more graduates to attack a brain drain, the report found. — Olivera Perkins, cleveland.com, "What’s the best way to attract young professionals to Greater Cleveland, and keep them? Calling All Readers," 20 Aug. 2019 Has the status of Alabama’s problem with brain drain changed? — Lily Jackson | Ljackson@al.com, al, "Alabama had a problem with brain drain. How’s that looking now?," 12 Nov. 2019 In the Philippines, brain drain was a real thing: There was no decent work to be had, even in the big city of Manila. — Yana Gilbuena, SFChronicle.com, "Balikbayan boxes and the slow erosion of the Filipino family," 31 Oct. 2019 India has also suffered from persistent brain drain. — Ashok Lalwani, Quartz India, "With the right nudge, India can become the next Silicon Valley," 26 Sep. 2019 In 2017, Alabama was suffering from high levels of brain drain. — Lily Jackson | Ljackson@al.com, al, "Alabama had a problem with brain drain. How’s that looking now?," 12 Nov. 2019 So much for that coaching brain drain that was supposed to hamper the Patriots this season. — BostonGlobe.com, "Symmetry, something to savor in Bill Belichick’s 300th win - The Boston Globe," 28 Oct. 2019 That is dismal news for a country already suffering from brain drain. — The Economist, "Can Kyriakos Mitsotakis ensure the Greek economy starts growing again?," 3 Oct. 2019 This is important in preventing internal brain drains and exacerbating socio-economic disparities within and between African countries. — Wim Delva, Quartz Africa, "Data science institutions focused on Africa are being built across the continent," 8 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brain drain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

21 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Brain drain.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brain%20drain. Accessed 22 January 2020.

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