n.
Pronunciation: ' d ə n- ˌ k ə rk, ˌ d ə n- '
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 U.S. foreign policy ― Time >