flunk

The difference between dropping the SAT and dropping the civil service examination is that incompetent students flunk out in a year or so.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

It’s saying, “Oh, yay, I get to flunk another math test this week,” when what you mean is that you are freaked out about your consistently terrible grades in math class.

From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2024

If you flunk three times, as Moon did before passing on her fourth try, you have to pay another $41 fee to start a new round of test-taking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2023

This other teacher is going to flunk me.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 13, 2022

See, Katherine, I am not going to flunk out as a cry for help! he thought.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A driving examiner, she has the nickname “E-Z Pass,” because she never flunks an applicant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025

If a plaintiff flunks this test, there’s no actual “controversy,” so the federal judiciary has no authority to hear the case.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2022

It was a loving and dutiful decision — the kind that flunks the test for American success.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022

If he flunks the test, he will not be alone in paying a price.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 10, 2018

“Well,” I said, “that’s only until he flunks out of community college and comes right back!”

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

Incredibly, as much as people believe football gets players in the best shape of their life, Fine once flunked his conditioning test for lacrosse after playing football.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Turns out I hadn’t flunked technology after all.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Masse’s professors would have flunked him if he used artificial intelligence for designs and images, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

He has been anonymous in his games so far and, if this was his big moment to announce himself, he flunked the test.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

Kirby patiently listened to the testimony and ruled that Gary Edwards had flunked algebra II and was ineligible to participate in football under the rule of no-pass, no-play.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

The freshman and sophomore years were tough, with some core courses flunking or dropping almost half the students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

On each corner of 23rd Avenue and Jefferson Street, including by the Ezell’s Famous Chicken, protesters carried signs reading “Shots Fired, We’re Tired,” or “report cards” grading Seattle Public Schools as flunking on safety.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

Some people were suffering through DMV cattle lines and flunking crazy tests; others breezed through the whole process without leaving the comfort of their own sofas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

He also described flunking his first chemistry exam as a first-year undergraduate student.

From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2023

“It’s been rough for you, Henry, I know, but you can’t do this. You’re flunking three classes, getting into fights. I hardly see you because you’re always locked in your room.”

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson