flunk
flunk — verb
1. to receive a score in a test or course that is below the minimum level needed to
to receive a score in a test or course that is below the minimum level needed to pass; also used when a teacher gives a student a grade so low that the student must repeat the course.
Jiwoo flunked her chemistry final because she had not studied the lab procedures.
flunked + [subject] final — direct object collocation
The physics professor flunked Marco for copying answers from another student.
teacher + flunked + person — teacher-grading transitive structure
If you flunk this class, you will have to take it again next semester.
Reuben was terrified that he would flunk the driving test on his first try.
Tanvi studied every night to make sure she would not flunk math this term.
- fail
Standard, neutral term for not meeting the required standard; flunk is more informal and typical of US conversation.
- bomb
Stronger US slang meaning to fail very badly or embarrassingly; more dramatic than flunk.
- wash out
An informal phrasal verb meaning to fail and be forced to leave a programme, especially in military or academic training.
- pass
The direct opposite — to meet or exceed the minimum required standard.
文法句型
flunk + noun phrase (a test / an exam / a course)
flunk + person (teacher gives student a failing grade)
用法筆記
This word is informal and typical of spoken or casual American English. In formal writing or official transcripts, use 'fail' instead. The verb can be used transitively (flunk a test) or intransitively (flunk out of university). The teacher-grading meaning — as in 'The instructor flunked three students' — works the same way.
常見錯誤
flunk — noun
1. an instance of receiving a score too low to pass a test or course, or a failing
an instance of receiving a score too low to pass a test or course, or a failing grade itself.
After his third flunk in biology, Quan decided to change his major.
after [possessive] + ordinal + flunk in [subject] — noun with possessive
A single flunk on the final exam can keep you from graduating on time.
a + single + flunk + on [exam] — article + noun + prepositional phrase
Madison's parents treated her flunk as a setback, not a disaster.
The course syllabus states that three absences count as an automatic flunk.
- failure
The standard, formal noun for a failing result; flunk is less common and more casual.
- F
The letter grade used in US schools to represent a failing mark; often used in the same contexts.
- failing grade
Slightly more formal than flunk; can be used in official contexts such as transcripts.
- pass
A score or grade that meets the minimum required standard.
文法句型
a + flunk + in [subject]
get + a + flunk
用法筆記
The noun form is much less common than the verb. It is used informally, usually with an article (a flunk) or a possessive (his flunk). In academic records the word is 'failure' or 'F'; 'flunk' as a noun appears mostly in casual speech.