flunk out

Idioms  

1. Expel or be expelled from a school because one's work does not meet the required standard. For example, He flunked out of Harvard after just one year . [ Slang ; early 1800s]

2. Fail at anything, as in The camera ran out of film so we flunked out as photographers . [ Slang ; late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

If I got a football scholarship but had no place to live, no priority registration and no financial support, I’d flunk out of school.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2021

In fact, about 90 percent of experimental treatments flunk out during clinical trials, either because they aren’t shown to be any more effective than the standard treatment or because their side effects are too severe.

From Slate • Jul. 25, 2017

Meanwhile, Kurt was about to flunk out of Cornell when he quit and joined the Army.

From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2015

Maeby tries to flunk out of school to make her parents notice her – but they don't, because they've both gone to India, although she doesn't know that.

From The Guardian • May 28, 2013

"I didn't exactly flunk out or anything. I just quit, sort of."

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger