Ypres, battle of Ypres, third battle of Ypres(noun)

battle in World War I (1917); an Allied offensive which eventually failed because tanks bogged down in the waterlogged soil of Flanders; Germans introduced mustard gas which interfered with the Allied artillery

Ypres, battle of Ypres, second battle of Ypres(noun)

battle in World War I (1915); Germans wanted to try chlorine (a toxic yellow gas) as a weapon and succeeded in taking considerable territory from the Allied salient

Ypres, battle of Ypres, first battle of Ypres(noun)

battle in World War I (1914); heavy but indecisive fighting as the Allies and the Germans both tried to break through the lines of the others

Ypres(ProperNoun)

A city in Flanders, Belgium; or, the municipality containing this city.

Ypres

an old Belgian town in West Flanders, 30 m. SW. of Bruges; was at one time a great weaving centre, and famous for its diaper linen; has much fallen off, though it retains a town-hall and a cathedral, both of Gothic architecture in evidence of what it once was; it was strongly fortified once, and has been subjected to many sieges; the manufacture of thread and lace is now the most important industry.