What is the meaning of Dunkirk?

noun

  • A crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat.
    • usage: "the Russians had to pull off a Dunkirk to get out of there"
  • A seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II.
  • An amphibious evacuation in World War II (1940) when 330, 000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches in northern France in a desperate retreat under enemy fire.
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). dunkirk. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/dunkirk/definitions/1194115
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "dunkirk" http://smartdefine.org/dunkirk/definitions/1194115 (accessed September 21, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, dunkirk, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/dunkirk/definitions/1194115>.
MLAWordNet. "dunkirk" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/dunkirk/definitions/1194115>