Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun dunkirk

3 senses of dunkirk

Sense 1
Dunkirk -- (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")
       => crisis -- (an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty; "they went bankrupt during the economic crisis")

Sense 2
Dunkirk, Dunkerque -- (a seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II)
       INSTANCE OF=> town -- (an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city; "they drive through town on their way to work")
       INSTANCE OF=> port -- (a place (seaport or airport) where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country)

Sense 3
Dunkirk, Dunkerque -- (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)
       INSTANCE OF=> amphibious operation -- (a military operation by both land and sea forces)
       INSTANCE OF=> evacuation -- (the act of evacuating; leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection)