Pearl Harbor

American  

noun

1. a harbor near Honolulu, on S Oahu, in Hawaii: surprise attack by Japan on the U.S. naval base and other military installations December 7, 1941.

2. any significant or crippling defeat, betrayal, loss, etc., that comes unexpectedly.

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Pearl Harbor British  

noun

1. an almost landlocked inlet of the Pacific on the S coast of the island of Oahu, Hawaii: site of a US naval base attacked by the Japanese in 1941, resulting in the US entry into World War II

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Pearl Harbor Cultural  

1. A major United States naval base in Hawaii that was attacked without warning by the Japanese air force on December 7, 1941, with great loss of American lives and ships. In asking Congress to declare war on Japan the next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt described the day of the attack as “a date which will live in infamy.”

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Example Sentences

The losses inflicted on the U.S. fleet in 1941 at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, in whose navy Mahan was required reading, were soon replaced, and then some.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's official visit to the US has been overshadowed by President Donald Trump's comment on a key piece of shared history - Pearl Harbor.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

President Trump: "We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?"

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

“Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor destroyed or damaged 18 warships and nearly 350 planes.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin