Etymology

brain drain

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

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The story

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.