Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- A city of northern France on the North Sea. In World War II more than 330,000 Allied troops were evacuated from its beaches in the face of enemy fire (May–June 1940).
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A privateer vessel from Dunkirk in the seventeenth century.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- proper noun the name of a town and a battle fought there, in World War II (1940) when 330,000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in a desperate retreat under enemy fire. Most of the forces were safely evacuated to England.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun A town in Nord-Pas de Calais,
France
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II
- noun a crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat
- noun 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
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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DUNKIRK - A Buffalo man was arraigned Tuesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a Dunkirk resident.
Post-Journal 2009
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DUNKIRK - For the second time in just more than a month, authorities put an end to a cockfighting ring in Dunkirk on Thursday.
Post-Journal 2009
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The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.
Dunkirk 2002
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Laurie, a young British soldier recovering from devastating wounds suffered at Dunkirk, is loved by two men: Andrew, the beautiful and virginal Quaker orderly who cares for him in the hospital, and Ralph, a schoolmate once expelled for homosexuality, who now resurfaces as a handsome naval officer.
Walk-In Closet 2006
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Laurie, a young British soldier recovering from devastating wounds suffered at Dunkirk, is loved by two men: Andrew, the beautiful and virginal Quaker orderly who cares for him in the hospital, and Ralph, a schoolmate once expelled for homosexuality, who now resurfaces as a handsome naval officer.
Walk-In Closet 2006
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Laurie, a young British soldier recovering from devastating wounds suffered at Dunkirk, is loved by two men: Andrew, the beautiful and virginal Quaker orderly who cares for him in the hospital, and Ralph, a schoolmate once expelled for homosexuality, who now resurfaces as a handsome naval officer.
Walk-In Closet 2006
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The test was done after the prologue in Dunkirk last weekend.
USATODAY.com - Top riders beat pack by more than 30 minutes 2001
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And that one PIREP was located near Dunkirk, which is well south of Buffalo, and it was for severe ice.
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At last Governor Shirley of Massachusetts resolved to attack it, and we may judge of the esteem in which Pepperell was held, by the fact that he was appointed to lead an expedition against a fortress deemed impregnable by the French, and known as the Dunkirk of
American Sketches 1908 Charles Whibley 1894
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It may well be called the Dunkirk of the Western world.
French and English A Story of the Struggle in America Evelyn Everett-Green 1894
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