Dunkirk
[ duhn-kurk ]
/ ˈdʌn kɜrk /
noun
French Dun·kerque [dœn-kerk] /dœ̃ˈkɛrk/. 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.
a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced: The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.
a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.
QUIZZES
FOR POSTERITY’S SAKE, TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!
Are words your bailiwick? Take the latest quiz on the words from July 6 to July 12 to find out.
Question 1 of 7
bailiwick
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for dunkerque
British Dictionary definitions for dunkerque
Dunkerque
/ (French dœ̃kɛrk) /
noun
a port in N France, on the Strait of Dover: scene of the evacuation of British and other Allied troops after the fall of France in 1940; industrial centre with an oil refinery and naval shipbuilding yards. Pop: 70 850 (1999)English name: Dunkirk (dʌnˈkɜːk)
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
Cultural definitions for dunkerque
Dunkirk
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.
notes for Dunkirk
The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.