Dunkirk

Dun·kirk

noun \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>

Examples of DUNKIRK

1. <with the company facing a financial Dunkirk, it was hoped that the new CEO could turn things around—and fast>

Origin of DUNKIRK

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

First Known Use: 1941

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

Related Words: contingency, possibility; climax, turning point; happening, landmark, milestone; condition, pass, situation, strait; deadlock, impasse, stalemate; corner, fix, hole, hot water, jam, last ditch, pinch, predicament, scrape, spot; eleventh hour, last minute

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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