Dunkirk
1
6.1
- proper noun
:
Dunkerque
- Britain's decline as a great power and the beginning of the end of her empire came well before the surrender of the Third Reich; the diminution of Britain began, to identify the moment in history, at Dunkirk in the spring of May 1940 when France fell to Hitler's Germany.
- beaches of Dunkirk
- town of Dunkirk
- Dunkirk, France
I was north of Calais, probably Dunkirk way, right?
- I was north of Calais, probably Dunkirk way, right?
Examples
-
The whole British Expeditionary Force is falling back on Dunkirk.
-
But in contrast to Norway... Dunkirk was within easy reach... of Britain's land-based fighter planes.
-
Every hour you continue to exist is of the greatest help to our forces at Dunkirk.
-
No, he was in the Fusiliers, he fought at Dunkirk.
-
When France fell, the British army retreated to Dunkirk and by a miracle return home.
-
After his stint in Moscow, he reported from Dunkirk in 1939.
Academic text (1991) -
In a powerful drive to the north... ...General Montgomery cuts off and bypasses the French coastal towns... ...of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk.
-
Hitler's government made five separate peace initiatives to the British; he halted his attack at Dunkirk and did not annihilate the British ground forces. France and Britain declared war first.
Blog text (18) -
The German army controls every French port except Dunkirk here and Calais here to the west, where the garrison under Brigadier Nicholson is drawing fire and delaying the German advance on Dunkirk.
-
In 1940, the British forces made a desperate stand at Dunkirk during World War II.
Synonyms
A port city in northern France on the North Sea
Compounds
A rescue of many Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 during World War II
A strong feeling of people working together and being determined in hard times
Surface Forms
Etymology
Dunkirk comes from old Dutch words duin 'dune' and kerk 'church', so the town's name means 'church in the dunes'. That is a simple way to remember this seaport on the North Sea.