brain drain
English
Etymology
Coined by spokesmen for the Royal Society of London in the early 1950s to describe the outflow of scientists and technologists to the United States and Canada.
Pronunciation
- enPR: brānʹ-drān
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#BRAINDRAINAudio (US): (file)
Noun
brain drain (plural brain drains)Category:English lemmas#BRAINDRAINCategory:English nouns#BRAINDRAINCategory:English countable nouns#BRAINDRAINCategory:English multiword terms#BRAINDRAINCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BRAINDRAINCategory:Pages with entries#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Pages with 2 entries#BRAIN%20DRAIN
- (idiomaticCategory:English idioms#BRAINDRAIN) The migration of educated or talented people from less economically advanced areas to more economically advanced areas, especially to large cities or more developed nations.
- Antonym: brain gain
- 1955, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Proceedings, Issues 6-12, page 60:
- Fortunately, the often-discussed problem of "the brain drain" is not as serious in agriculture as in most other fields, particularly the "hard sciences."Category:English terms with quotations#BRAINDRAIN
- 2023 October 4, Philip Haigh, “HS2's rising costs: government only has itself to blame”, in RAIL, number 993, page 53:
- Former HS2 Ltd chairman Sir David Higgins provided a timely reminder of why Britain needs HS2 in a letter to The Times on September 25, in which he asked: "Why are so few FTSE 100 companies based outside the South East? Why is there such a brain drain of graduates from the North? Why do northern cities underperform compared with their European counterparts?Category:English terms with quotations#BRAINDRAIN
- (medicineCategory:en:Medicine#BRAINDRAIN, informalCategory:English informal terms#BRAINDRAIN) A Jackson-Pratt drain.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
brain drain (third-person singular simple present brain drains, present participle brain draining, simple past and past participle brain drained)Category:English lemmas#BRAINDRAINCategory:English verbs#BRAINDRAINCategory:English multiword terms#BRAINDRAINCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BRAINDRAINCategory:Pages with entries#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Pages with 2 entries#BRAIN%20DRAIN
- (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#BRAINDRAIN, idiomaticCategory:English idioms#BRAINDRAIN, uncommonCategory:English terms with uncommon senses#BRAINDRAIN) Of a nation or society, to be deprived of educated or talented people, who in turn migrate to larger cities or more developed nations.
- (intransitiveCategory:English intransitive verbs#BRAINDRAIN, idiomaticCategory:English idioms#BRAINDRAIN, uncommonCategory:English terms with uncommon senses#BRAINDRAIN) To become mentally or psychologically fatigued or exhausted.
Alternative forms
Translations
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from English#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian unadapted borrowings from English#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian terms derived from English#BRAIN%20DRAIN brain drain.
Noun
brain drain n (uncountable)Category:Romanian lemmas#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian nouns#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian uncountable nouns#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian multiword terms#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Romanian neuter nouns#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Pages with entries#BRAIN%20DRAINCategory:Pages with 2 entries#BRAIN%20DRAIN
Declension
| singular only | indefinite | definite |
|---|---|---|
| nominative-accusative | brain drain | brain drainul |
| genitive-dative | brain drain | brain drainului |
| vocative | brain drainule | |