drop-out vs drop out

Both "drop-out" and "drop out" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Drop-out" is used as a compound noun to refer to a person who has left school or college before finishing their studies. On the other hand, "drop out" is a phrasal verb meaning to leave something, especially school or college, without finishing it.

Last updated: April 01, 2024 • 936 views

drop-out

This is correct when used as a compound noun to refer to a person who has left school or college before finishing their studies.

The term "drop-out" is used to describe individuals who have discontinued their education before completion.

Examples:

The school has a high rate of drop-outs.
He is a college drop-out.

Show examples from the web [+]

Subject: School drop-out rate in Crete
We have an EU-wide school drop-out rate of over 14%.
What short-term measures are being considered to bring about a significant reduction in school drop-out rates?
The objective of the Europe 2020 strategy is to reduce school drop-out rates to below 10 % and increase the number of qualified school-leavers by at least 40 %.
However, there is reason to believe that the harsh working hours contribute to a significant drop-out rate, with a particular impact on women junior doctors.
In France, this process took no account of school drop-out rates, and under the MGI programme some schools were selected without sufficient justification.
This will lead to high drop-out rate of consumers after visiting your page and defeat your marketing campaigns or efforts to attract a larger audience.
Today, the average rate of school drop-out in the EU is over 16%.
Roughly one in five Romanian students leave the education system prematurely, with the school drop-out rate having tripled in the period 2000-07.
Moreover, there is a high school drop-out rate, especially among girls, who, once they have enrolled are less likely than boys to continue attending school.
As well as early years education, it targets, firstly, the reduction of school drop-out rates and, secondly, increasing the number of graduates.
For young people in particular, there were grave consequences of the global economic crisis, namely, serious rises in the youth unemployment and school drop-out rates.
The goals have been set of reducing the school drop-out rate to below 10% and enabling 40% of young people to complete higher education by 2020.
The following priorities have been identified for elimining poverty: a higher rate of employment, preventing school drop-out, eliminating child poverty, modernising social security, and eliminating discrimination.
As such, I consider it essential to apply measures to reduce early school drop-out rates, to increase the number of graduates, and to make education and professional training more attractive.
As a result of this distinctive combination of factors, the drop-out rates among Bahá'í community health workers in Chad and several other African countries are very low in comparison with other community health programs.
Moreover, it fails to mention the social reasons that lead to early school drop-out, to a lack of access to higher education opportunities and to youth unemployment, just so as to mask the responsibility of the neoliberal policies promoted by large companies and financial institutions.
At present, the Commission is concentrating, in particular through the work done by my colleague Commissioner Figeľ, on the early drop-out rates and the acquisition of basic skills.
Subject: What measures is the European Commission contemplating to combat school drop-out and the critical state of education in Romania?
school drop-out rates, recalling that it is for the Member States to take preventive action and offer pupils alternatives in the field of training and apprenticeship;

Alternatives:

school drop-out
college drop-out
university drop-out

drop out

This is correct when used as a phrasal verb to mean leaving something, especially school or college, without finishing it.

The term "drop out" is used to indicate the action of leaving school or college before completing the studies.