flunk out

verb

Updated on: 9 Mar 2018

Definition of flunk out

intransitive verb

: to be dismissed from a school or college for failure

transitive verb

: to dismiss from a school or college for failure

See flunk out defined for kids

Recent Examples of flunk out from the Web

But the sad, almost inevitable result is that the absent student will flunk out of college — attendance is one of the primary markers for success in the first year of college and for ultimate completion of the college degree.

— patricia mcguire, Washington Post, "After the scandals, what happens to public school students in college?," 1 Mar. 2018
The negative consequences may not be obvious at first, because the pass rates in these courses are very high and students who take them tend to graduate from high school instead of flunking out.

— susan dynarski, New York Times, "Online Courses Are Harming the Students Who Need the Most Help," 19 Jan. 2018
Nobody flunks out, and the consultant class self-perpetuates.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "The DNC Is Broken," 3 Nov. 2017
The other backup, Brock Osweiler, flunked out with the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns.

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "This is one comeback Elway may not soon pull off," 23 Oct. 2017
This is the same Groff, who will graduate in December with a degree in Communications, who flunked out of school and missed a year.

— branson wright, cleveland.com, "Baldwin Wallace linebacker Sam Groff regroups in classroom, dominates on field (video)," 19 Oct. 2017
Vladimir Voevodsky, formerly a gifted but restless student who flunked out of college out of boredom before emerging as one of the most brilliant and revolutionary mathematicians of his generation, died on Sept. 30 at his home in Princeton, N.J.

— julie rehmeyer, New York Times, "Vladimir Voevodsky, Revolutionary Mathematician, Dies at 51," 6 Oct. 2017
Weiss, a consummate tinkerer who once flunked out of college, wasn't the first person to think of using an interferometer to try to detect gravitational waves.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Ripples in space: U.S. trio wins physics Nobel for discovery of gravitational waves," 3 Oct. 2017
If competitive advantage has been gained through scholastic shortcuts taken on behalf of quasi-students who should have flunked out, how can that happen without significant sanctions?

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Maybe Florida State should vacate a title, too | Tim Sullivan," 2 Sep. 2017

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