Verdun

American  

[ver-duhn, vur-, ver-dœn] / vɛrˈdʌn, vɜr-, vɛrˈdœ̃ /

noun

1. 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.

2. a city in S Quebec, in SE Canada.

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Verdun British  

/ vɛrdœ̃, ˈvɛədʌn /

noun

1. Ancient name: Verodunum.  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)

2. 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)

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Example Sentences

The next morning, we detour north to the Ossuaire de Douaumont, where the remains of 130,000 unknown French and German soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun are interred inside a giant stone memorial.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

Britain's previous oldest parachutist was held by Verdun Hayes who in May 2017 jumped at the age of 101 and 38 days.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2024

“Sickle cell disease is a rare, debilitating and life-threatening blood disorder with significant unmet need,” the FDA’s Dr. Nicole Verdun said in a statement announcing the approvals.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 8, 2023

Belle Epoque French-Swiss painter Félix Vallotton, best known as a printmaker associated with the symbolist group Les Nabis, took on Verdun — an epic, nearly yearlong battle in eastern France.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 7, 2023

Like Verdun, the Somme quickly became a war of attrition in which each side tried to wear down the other.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman