Somme

[ sawm ]

/ sɔm /

noun

a river in N France, flowing NW to the English Channel: battles, World War I, 1916, 1918; World War II, 1944. 150 miles (241 km) long.

a department in N France. 2424 sq. mi. (6280 sq. km). Capital: Amiens.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for somme

Smith survived the night patrol, and met Tolkien again on the fringes of the Battle of the Somme that summer.
Why World War I Is at the Heart of ‘Lord of the Rings’|John Garth|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just weeks before the Somme, British soldiers put down the rising, leaving much of the city in ruins.
Wounds of World War I Have Yet to Heal|Michael F. Bishop|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In The Missing of the Somme, one war, the Great War, is more directly his subject.
Geoff Dyer's 'The Missing of the Somme' Reconsidered|Louisa Thomas|November 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“The Missing of the Somme” is carved onto the Thiepval Memorial.
Geoff Dyer's 'The Missing of the Somme' Reconsidered|Louisa Thomas|November 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The Missing of the Somme was not merely written as a diversion from rewriting Tender is the Night.
Geoff Dyer's 'The Missing of the Somme' Reconsidered|Louisa Thomas|November 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
To get information before the Somme offensive, the new idea of making daylight raids on the German trenches was adopted.
500 of the Best Cockney War Stories|Various
He has behind him the whole army strung out in separate bodies parallel to the Somme.
Crecy|Hilaire Belloc
This cut represents a section of a gravel pit at St. Acheul, on the Somme.
The Prehistoric World|E. A. Allen
The four overseas companies had carried out the recent operations on the Somme (September-October 1916).
A Company of Tanks|W. H. L. Watson
One followed the right bank of the Somme, passed Peronne, and thence on to Amiens.
Yolanda: Maid of Burgundy|Charles Major

British Dictionary definitions for somme

Somme

/ (French sɔm) /

noun

a department of N France, in Picardy region. Capital: Amiens. Pop: 557 061 (2003 est). Area: 6277 sq km (2448 sq miles)

a river in N France, rising in Aisne department and flowing west to Amiens, then northwest to the English Channel: scene of heavy fighting in World War I. Length: 245 km (152 miles)

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