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"
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
Proper Noun
1
Dunkerque, a town in Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
Broader Terms (hypernyms)