brain drain

or brain-drain

noun

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

brain drain

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brain drain¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Idioms and Phrases

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.