Verdun

Ver·dun

 (vər-dŭn′, vĕr-dœn′)

A city of northeast France on the Meuse River west of Metz. Dating to Roman times and an important Carolingian commercial center, it was the site of a prolonged World War I battle (February-December 1916) in which French forces repelled a massive German offensive. The total casualties have been estimated at more than 700,000. The city was rebuilt after the war.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Verdun

(French vɛrdœ̃; English ˈvɛədʌn)

n

1. (Placename) a fortified town in NE France, on the Meuse: scene of the longest and most severe battle (1916) of World War I, in which the French repelled a powerful German offensive. Pop: 19 624 (1999). Ancient name: Verodunum

2. (Historical Terms) Treaty of Verdun an agreement reached in 843 ad by three grandsons of Charlemagne, dividing his empire into an E kingdom (later Germany), a W kingdom (later France), and a middle kingdom (containing what became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Burgundy, and N Italy)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Ver•dun

(vɜrˈdʌn, vɛr-)

n.

1. a city in NE France, on the Meuse River. 26,927.

2. a city in S Quebec, in SE Canada. 60,246.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Verdun - a battle in World War I (1916); in some of the bloodiest fighting in World War I the German offensive was stopped battle of Verdun First World War, Great War, War to End War, World War 1, World War I - a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918 France, French Republic - a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe

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