brain drain

or brain-drain


noun

a loss of trained professional personnel to another company, nation, etc., that offers greater opportunity.

Origin of brain drain

First recorded in 1960–65

British Dictionary definitions for brain drain

brain drain

noun

informal the emigration of scientists, technologists, academics, etc, for better pay, equipment, or conditions

Idioms and Phrases with brain drain

brain drain

The departure of educated or talented persons for better pay or jobs elsewhere, as in The repression of free speech in Germany triggered a brain drain to Britain and America. The term originated about 1960, when many British scientists and intellectuals emigrated to the United States for a better working climate.