DUNKIRK

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Dunkirk mean? 

• DUNKIRK (noun)
  The noun DUNKIRK has 3 senses:

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

2. a seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II

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

  Familiarity information: DUNKIRK used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DUNKIRK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

the Russians had to pull off a Dunkirk to get out of there

Hypernyms ("Dunkirk" is a kind of...):

crisis (an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

Dunkerque; Dunkirk

Instance hypernyms:

port (a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country)

town (an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

Dunkerque; Dunkirk

Instance hypernyms:

evacuation (the act of evacuating; leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection)

amphibious operation (a military operation by both land and sea forces)

Domain region:

France; French Republic (a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe)

Holonyms ("Dunkirk" is a part of...):

Second World War; World War 2; World War II (a war between the Allies (Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, USSR, Yugoslavia) and the Axis (Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Rumania, Slovakia, Thailand) from 1939 to 1945)