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
• Hypernyms: ↑crisis
2. a seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II
• Syn: ↑Dunkerque
3. 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
• Syn: ↑Dunkerque
• Regions: ↑France, ↑French Republic
• Instance Hypernyms: ↑amphibious operation, ↑evacuation
• Part Holonyms: ↑World War II, ↑World War 2, ↑Second World War
Useful english dictionary. 2012.