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

As for the magic of his off-screen narration, speech pathologist Laura Purcell Verdun says trustworthiness is the crucial ingredient.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

“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

It's a fascinating collection: one card confirms that Charles de Gaulle, France's World War Two leader and later its president, had been taken prisoner at the battle of Verdun in 1916.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2023

Meanwhile, another nightmarish battle, raging since the beginning of July, had shifted the center of action on the Western Front from Verdun to the Somme River.

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