white flight

American

[hwahyt flahyt, wahyt] / ˈʰwaɪt ˈflaɪt, ˈwaɪt /

noun

the movement of white people, especially middle-class and affluent white people, from urban neighborhoods undergoing racial integration to the suburbs.

white flight British

noun

the departure of White residents from areas where non-White people are settling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of white flight

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It had happened in the 1960s and 70s, when “racial fears, decreasing property values” and other factors triggered white flight.

From Los Angeles Times

Detroit’s ranking as the most affordable city in Remitly’s list reflects the city’s decades-long population loss, driven by white flight and a decline in the auto industry, Lens said.

From Los Angeles Times

Docter said later that busing “should have been introduced on a voluntary basis to dispel fears among the majority population and resist white flight.”

From Los Angeles Times

In brief, Citicorp is seeking to build a new headquarters in New York, at a time when New York is mired in rampant street crime, white flight and financial collapse.

From The Wall Street Journal

She was eventually hired by Compton Unified in 1967 and began an 17-year career as a social studies teacher in a school system that, at the time, had become nearly all-Black as a result of white flight.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023