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

Greenpeace members on Saturday filmed the loading of about 10 containers with radioactive labels onto a cargo ship in the Channel port of Dunkirk, the NGO said.

From Barron's • Nov. 16, 2025

Her father was Brigadier WB Sallitt OBE, a veteran of Dunkirk and surely a model for Cooper's fictional male characters.

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2025

We later learned the phone had been handed over to Abdullah, who had apparently taken over the running of operations in Dunkirk.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2025

As we had often observed before, French police were already positioned outside the bus and train stations in Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne - the main gathering points for migrants moving to the beaches.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2025

Their route was taking them well to the right of the cloud, to the east of Dunkirk, toward the Belgian border.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan