drop out

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drop-out" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drop out” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily.

Key facts for drop out
PropertyValue
Headworddrop out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “drop out” sits in English frequency

drop out falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for drop out is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

drop out doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is drop out, spelled D-R-O-P- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily.
  2. 2
    To opt out of conventional society.
  3. 3
    To be lost or momentarily interrupted.
  4. 4
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see drop, out.
  5. 5
    To give way under someone.
  6. 6
    To cause someone to slip and/or fall down.
  7. 7
    To dismiss, break up with or abandon (someone).

This word in other languages

desertar(Español)aussteigen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drop out"?
"drop out" is spelled D-R-O-P- -O-U-T.
What does "drop out" mean?
As a verb, "drop out" means: To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily.
What language does "drop out" come from?
"drop out" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “drop out”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-R-O-P- -O-U-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list