Dunkirk

American  

[duhn-kurk] / ˈdʌn kɜrk /

noun

1. French Dunkerque.  a seaport in N France: site of the evacuation of a British expeditionary force of over 330,000 men under German fire May 29–June 4, 1940.

2. a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced.

   The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.

3. a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.

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Dunkirk Cultural  

1. The scene of a remarkable, though ignominious, retreat by the British army in World War II. Dunkirk, a town on the northern coast of France, was the last refuge of the British during the fall of France, and several hundred naval and civilian vessels took the troops back to England in shifts over three days.

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The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Dunkirk

Prosecutors said that from about 2012 until 2016, he had been operating out of the Grand Synthe camp near Dunkirk, charging his customers £4,500-£5,000 to cross to the UK.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

It will also work with French energy-technology company Schneider Electric to build facilities to make components for the data centers near the port city of Dunkirk in the north of the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

The first three data centres would be at Dunkirk and near the northern cities of Cambrai and Amiens, he added.

From Barron's ● May 30, 2026

The victims set off from a beach near Dunkirk in France and came from a number of countries, including Iraq, Somali, Ethiopia, Egypt and Afghanistan.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026

He guessed they were twenty-five miles from Dunkirk.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan