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• D-day
  D-day

  noun

  the day, usually unspecified, set for the beginning of a planned attack.
• D-Day
  D-Day

  The code name for the first day of a military attack, especially the American and British invasion of German-occupied France during World War II on June 6, 1944 (see invasion of Normandy). This marked the beginning of the victory of the Allies in Europe. Germany surrendered less than a year later.

D-day

American  

[dee-dey] / ˈdiˌdeɪ /

Or D-Day

noun

1. Military. the day, usually unspecified, set for the beginning of a planned attack.

2. June 6, 1944, the day of the invasion of western Europe by Allied forces in World War II.

3. Informal. any day of special significance, as one marking an important event or goal.

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D-day British  

noun

1. the day, June 6, 1944, on which the Allied invasion of Europe began

2. the day on which any large-scale operation is planned to start

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D-Day Cultural  

1. The code name for the first day of a military attack, especially the American and British invasion of German-occupied France during World War II on June 6, 1944 (see invasion of Normandy). This marked the beginning of the victory of the Allies in Europe. Germany surrendered less than a year later.

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Etymology

Origin of D-day

First recorded in 1918; D (for day ) + day; the same pattern as H-hour

Example Sentences

Stagg was not allowed to make phone calls to her because of the secrecy surrounding D-day.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

If you’re skeptical about how exciting a movie about the weather on D-day might be, “Pressure” takes that as a creative challenge, an argumentative stance from which to start.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

“They did a whole series of exercises to try and get together a full-scale dress rehearsal of what D-day would be,” Maras says.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

After Stagg convinces the leaders to postpone D-day, he is vindicated by a deluge of rain that arrives while everyone is attending church at Southwark House on June 5.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

On March 16, twenty-six days after D-day, organized resistance was declared at an end.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac