Dunkirk
noun
Dun·kirk ˈdən-ˌkərk 
ˌdən-ˈkərk
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
Time
Synonyms
- boiling point
- breaking point
- clutch
- conjuncture
- crisis
- crossroad(s)
- crunch
- crunch time
- emergency
- exigency
- extremity
- flash point
- head
- juncture
- tinderbox
- zero hour
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
with the company facing a financial Dunkirk, it was hoped that the new CEO could turn things around—and fast
Word History
Etymology
Dunkirk or Dunkerque, France, scene of the evacuation of Allied forces in 1940
First Known Use
1941, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dunkirk
noun
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action with the company facing a financial Dunkirk, it was hoped that the new CEO could turn things around—and fast Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- crisis
- situation
- crossroad(s)
- head
- emergency
- boiling point
- flash point
- extremity
- breaking point
- zero hour
- juncture
- moment of truth
- conjuncture
- crunch time
- climax
- point of no return
- crunch
- turning point
- exigency
- possibility
- clutch
- happening
- condition
- predicament
- contingency
- milestone
- tinderbox
- stalemate
- hot water
- last ditch
- eleventh hour
- corner
- strait
- impasse
- deadlock
- landmark
- pass
- last minute
- hole
- spot
- jam
- scrape
- fix
- pinch
- myrmecobii
- myrmecobiine
- Myrmecobius
- myrmecobiuses
- myrmecochorous
- myrmecochory
- myrmecoid
- myrmecoidy
- myrmecological
- myrmecologies
- myrmecologist
- myrmecologists
- myrmecology
- Myrmecophaga
- myrmecophagae
- myrmecophagas
- myrmecophagid
- Myrmecophagidae
- myrmecophagidaes
- myrmecophagine
- myrmecophagoid
- myrmecophagous
- myrmecophile
- myrmecophiles
- myrmecophilism