n.
1.a crisis in which a desperate effort is the only alternative to defeat
2.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
Idiom of the Day
head up (something) or head (something) up
to be at the head of a group, to be a leader of something
The company president headed up a group of people going overseas to promote trade.