flunk

[ fluhngk ]

See synonyms for flunk on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to fail in a course or examination.

verb (used with object)

to fail to get a passing mark in: to flunk math.
to give a failing grade to; remove (a student) as unqualified from a school or course.

noun

a failure, as in a course or examination.

Verb Phrases

flunk out, to fail and be unable to continue in: He flunked out of flight school.

Origin of flunk

1815–25, Americanism; perhaps akin to flinch¹, funk¹

Other words from flunk

un·flunked, adjective

Words Nearby flunk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use flunk in a sentence

An example of a law that would flunk the rational basis test is one that prohibits people born on Tuesdays from driving.
Judges Now Recognize Anti-Gay Marriage Laws Are Irrational | Geoffrey R. Stone | April 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Did President Obama flunk Con Law at his news conference Monday?
Obama’s Comments Remind Us How Meaningless ‘Judicial Activism’ Is | Jesse Singal | April 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
If Grutter is given more teeth, many affirmative-action programs around the country could flunk constitutional scrutiny.
Will the Supreme Court End Affirmative Action? | Dan Slater | February 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The school is known in wealthy circles as “Dumb White Kids Getting High Together,” but Hilton actually managed to flunk out.
A Socialite's Tragic Curtain Call | Jacob Bernstein | January 6, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
I passed everything with the utmost ease—I know the secret now, and am never going 134 to flunk again.
Daddy Long-Legs | Jean Webster

Sometimes he felt that he would enjoy, yes, actually, hearing somebody 223 flunk in one of his classes.
Princeton Stories | Jesse Lynch Williams
Most men do, I say, they usually work at it, study at it good enough so they don't flunk out.
Warren Commission (2 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
I wonder if I could do it; seems 's if I would now, but flesh is weak, and I might flunk, and that would settle it.
Cap'n Eri | Joseph Crosby Lincoln
And if I flunk, I have to work in the garden all summer without a single fishing trip.
Rosemary | Josephine Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for flunk

flunk

/ (flʌŋk) informal, mainly US, Canadian and NZ /

verb

to fail or cause to fail to reach the required standard in (an examination, course, etc)
(intr foll by out) to be dismissed from a school or college through failure in examinations

noun

a low grade below the pass standard

Origin of flunk

C19: perhaps from flinch 1 + funk 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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