a port in N France, on the Strait of Dover: scene of the evacuation of British and other Allied troops after the fall of France in 1940; industrial centre with an oil refinery and naval shipbuilding yards. Pop: 70 850 (1999)

English name Dunkirk

1. a city in northern France on the North Sea where in World War II (1940) 330,000 Allied troops had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in a desperate retreat under enemy fire

(synonym) Dunkirk

(hypernym) city , metropolis , urban center

(part-holonym) World War II , World War 2 , Second World War

(classification) France , French Republic