dropout

1 of 2

noun

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

drop out

2 of 2

verb

ˌdräp-ˈau̇t 

dropped out; dropping out; drops out

intransitive verb

: 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

Noun

Steve Jobs was a college dropout who launched Apple in his garage. —Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 24 Nov. 2025

Apple founder Steve Jobs, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Dell founder Michael Dell, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg are all college dropouts—and each are megabillionaires today. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 18 Nov. 2025

Verb

Van Der Beek was originally slated to attend, but had to drop out due to a stomach virus. —Jordan Moreau, Variety, 26 Nov. 2025

Harris launched her first presidential campaign in January 2019 before dropping out of the race in December of that year. —Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dropout

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dugout

Kids 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

dräp-ˈau̇t 

: to withdraw from taking part or membership : quit

dropped out of school