dunkirk

Dunkirk has 2 syllables: dun · kirk.

noun. 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.

noun. A seaport in northern France on the North Sea; scene of the evacuation of British forces in 1940 during World War II.

noun. A crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat.