Verdun

[ ver-duhn, vur-; French ver-dœn ]

/ vɛrˈdʌn, vɜr-; French vɛrˈdœ̃ /

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noun

a fortress city in NE France, on the Meuse River. A German offensive was stopped here in 1916 in the bloodiest fighting of World War I.

a city in S Quebec, in SE Canada.

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Words nearby Verdun

Verdi, Giuseppe, verdigris, verdigris toadstool, verdin, verditer, Verdun, verdure, verdurous, verecund, Vereeniging, Verein

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Verdun in a sentence

At France’s World War I battlefield at Verdun, Hupy dug meter-long trenches with a backhoe across bomb craters and in their vicinity, looking for signs of disturbance.
Russia’s invasion could cause long-term harm to Ukraine’s prized soil|Rebecca Dzombak|June 21, 2022|Science News
Francois Hollande should say, like Marshal Petain at Verdun,They shall not pass… gas.
PJ O’Rourke on Putin’s Crimea for Help|P. J. O’Rourke|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It would be unfunny, for different reasons, if set at Verdun or Gettysburg or Stalingrad.
A Rather Misguided Catch-22 Reaction|David Frum|January 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Alistair first came into fame with his book about the Battle of Verdun, The Price of Glory.
Lessons from Another War|Christopher Buckley|November 12, 2009|DAILY BEAST

When he had gone the detective, turning to the chauffeur, said: "I shall require you to take us to Verdun."
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux
Before leaving Verdun he had seen Pierrepont enter the telegraph bureau—to dispatch a message to the Sûreté, without a doubt.
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux
The allied armies entered France; Longwy surrendered on the 26th and Verdun on the 31st.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
Farther northwest are Verdun and Toul, with our American boys.
The Blot on the Kaiser's 'Scutcheon|Newell Dwight Hillis
I did not see my husband for several months, and then he joined us in Nice for a few days before going to Verdun.
Paris Vistas|Helen Davenport Gibbons

British Dictionary definitions for Verdun

Verdun

/ (French vɛrdœ̃, English ˈvɛədʌn) /

noun

a fortified town in NE France, on the Meuse: scene of the longest and most severe battle (1916) of World War I, in which the French repelled a powerful German offensive. Pop: 19 624 (1999)Ancient name: Verodunum (ˌvɛrəˈdjuːnəm)

Treaty of Verdun an agreement reached in 843 ad by three grandsons of Charlemagne, dividing his empire into an E kingdom (later Germany), a W kingdom (later France), and a middle kingdom (containing what became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Burgundy, and N Italy)

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