Waterloo
Americannoun
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a village in central Belgium, south of Brussels: Napoleon decisively defeated here on June 18, 1815.
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a decisive or crushing defeat.
The candidate met her Waterloo in the national elections.
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a city in E Iowa.
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a city in SE Ontario, in S Canada.
noun
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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)
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a total or crushing defeat (esp in meet one's Waterloo )
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.
Erika Vikman recreated Abba's Waterloo - 1974's Eurovision winner - while Alexander Rybak gave Cliff Richard's Congratulations the hoedown treatment.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The separate pro-Palestinian march, commemorating Nakba Day, begins in Kensington, before heading to Waterloo Place via Piccadilly.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
“English Liberator” reads like a period war novel, an enjoyable ride for the history buff looking for unheralded adventure stories bridging the gap between Waterloo and Fort Sumter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 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
Their lyrics were about love, heartbreak, guys named Fernando, and places called Waterloo.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
