Link Centre Dictionary

Dunkirk

dun·kirk

UK/ˈdʌŋkɜː(ɹ)k/ US/dʌnˈkɜː(ɹ)k/ uncommon

noun

1.

a crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat

  • “the Russians had to pull off a Dunkirk to get out of there”
2.

a city in northern France on the North Sea where in World War II (1940) 330,000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in a desperate retreat under enemy fire

Synonyms

Origin

From Dutch Duinkerke, from duin (“dune”) + kerk (“church”). By surface analysis, from dune + kirk.

Phrases

  • Dunkirk spirit

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.