Waterloo

American  

[waw-ter-loo, wot-er-, waw-ter-loo, wot-er-, vah-tuhr-loh] / ˈwɔ tərˌlu, ˈwɒt ər-, ˌwɔ tərˈlu, ˌwɒt ər-, ˈvɑ tərˌloʊ /

noun

1. a village in central Belgium, south of Brussels: Napoleon decisively defeated here on June 18, 1815.

2. a decisive or crushing defeat.

   The candidate met her Waterloo in the national elections.

3. a city in E Iowa.

4. a city in SE Ontario, in S Canada.

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Waterloo British  

/ ˌwɔːtəˈluː /

noun

1. a small town in central Belgium, in Walloon Brabant province south of Brussels: battle (1815) fought nearby in which British and Prussian forces under the Duke of Wellington and Blücher routed the French under Napoleon. Pop: 29 003 (2004 est)

2. a total or crushing defeat (esp in meet one's Waterloo )

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Waterloo Idioms  

1. see meet one's waterloo.

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Example Sentences

On his mother's side, he was descended from Lt Gen Sir Edward Barnes, a veteran of the Battle of Waterloo; on his father's, from the 19th-Century Bengali reformer Brahmananda Keshub Chandra Sen.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

The major motorways that strike west from the capital bypass the county entirely; the trains from London Waterloo to the local station at Dorchester take a leisurely three hours.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Julian Prosia, a 31-year-old optometrist in Waterloo, Ontario, was living a healthy life when he and his wife started planning for a baby.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Elsewhere on the railway, there will be a reduced service between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction due to the renewal of switches and crossings.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

They had to answer one more question: What is the origin of the phrase, "to meet one's Waterloo" and what does it mean?

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg