Somme
Americannoun
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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.
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a department in N France. 2,424 sq. mi. (6,280 sq. km). Amiens.
noun
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a department of N France, in Picardy region. Capital: Amiens. Pop: 557 061 (2003 est). Area: 6277 sq km (2448 sq miles)
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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)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The day was also marked in Villers-Bretonneux, a village in the Somme region of France, which Australian units helped defend during World War One.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
It was like the Battle of the Somme, with cowboy hats.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Russian advances in some of its major offensives are slower than the infamous Battle of the Somme in World War I, according to CSIS.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026
He died age 34 at the Battle of the Somme, six months after joining the Army.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025
Robert Graves, badly wounded in the Battle of the Somme, had been posted back to England.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
