Main Entry: Dun·kirk

Pronunciation: \ˈdən-ˌkərk, ˌdən-ˈ\

Function: noun

Etymology: Dunkirk or Dunkerque, France, scene of the evacuation of Allied forces in 1940

Date: 1941

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>