First Known Use: 1941
Dictionary
Dunkirk
noun Dun·kirk \ˈdən-ˌkərk, ˌdən-ˈ\
Definition of DUNKIRK
1
: a retreat to avoid total defeat
2
: a crisis situation that requires a desperate last effort to forestall certain failure <a Dunkirk for United States foreign policy — Time>
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Origin of DUNKIRK
Dunkirk or Dunkerque, France, scene of the evacuation of Allied forces in 1940
Related to DUNKIRK
- Synonyms
- boiling point, breaking point, clutch, conjuncture, crisis, crossroad(s), crunch, crunch time, emergency, exigency, extremity, flash point, head, juncture, tinderbox, zero hour
Rhymes with DUNKIRK
artwork, at work, beadwork, berserk, breastwork, brickwork, bridgework, brightwork, brushwork, capework, casework, clockwork, coachwork, de Klerk, ductwork, earthwork, falsework, fieldwork, file clerk, firework, flatwork, footwork, formwork, framework, fretwork, frostwork, glasswork, Grand Turk, grillwork, groundwork, guesswork, hackwork, handwork, hauberk, headwork, homework, housework, in work, ironwork, knee-jerk, lacework, lifework, make-work, meshwork, millwork, network, outwork, paintwork, patchwork, piecework, presswork, quillwork, rework, roadwork, salesclerk, schoolwork, scrollwork, shellwork, slopwork, Southwark, spadework, steelwork, stickwork, stonework, stump work, teamwork, timework, topwork, town clerk, waxwork, webwork, wheelwork, woodwork, young Turk
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