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Quatre Bras

American  
[kah-truh brah, ka-truh brah] / ˈkɑ trə ˈbrɑ, ka trə ˈbrɑ /

noun

  1. a village in central Belgium, near Brussels: battle preliminary to the battle of Waterloo fought here 1815.


Quatre Bras British  
/ katrə bra /

noun

  1. a village in Belgium near Brussels; site of a battle in June 1815 where Wellington defeated the French under Marshal Ney, immediately preceding the battle of Waterloo

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Duke of Wellington coolly insisted on finishing his dinner, and many of his officers stayed so late that the next morning they wore evening attire to the Battle of Quatre Bras, a forerunner of Waterloo.

From The Wall Street Journal

Although frequently told, the story of the battle, or rather three battles—the engagement between Wellington’s Anglo-Dutch forces and the French at Quatre Bras on June 16th, the much bigger battle of Ligny on the same day, which saw the defeat of Prussia’s army, and finally Waterloo itself on the 18th—remains tense and gripping.

From Economist

The third was the aimless wandering in the pouring rain of the Compte d’Erlon and his 20,000 troops between the battle at Quatre Bras against the Anglo-Dutch and the battle at Ligny that the Prussians were losing.

From Economist

The second was Ney’s almost inexplicable hesitation in taking the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras, the key to dividing the coalition armies.

From Economist

Martha’s husband, Thomas, an ensign in the 73rd Highland Battalion, had been wounded in the arm during the battle of Quatre Bras on the 16th.

From Washington Post