Verb: drop by the wayside
- Stop trying or participating; admit defeat
"Many students dropped by the wayside before completing the challenging course";
- drop out, give up, fall by the wayside, throw in, throw in the towel [informal], quit, chuck up the sponge [US, non-standard]
Derived forms: dropping by the wayside, dropped by the wayside, drops by the wayside
Type of: break, break off, cease, discontinue, give up, lay off, quit, stop, surcease [archaic]