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

See Examples For:

Waterloo

While he was living in Waterloo, Belgium, nine of his former colleagues were jailed for their role in the events of 2017.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

He also lost his job as keeper of a 100-foot monument dedicated to Lord Edward Somerset, a general who fought at Waterloo.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

There are 65 Canadian colleges listed, he says, including McGill University, the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the University of British Columbia.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

Praising a group of trainees on X, he wrote: “These Waterloo interns at baseten are hill climbing machines.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

There was a clear, bright gleam in Ethan's eye as he concluded his answer with, "....to meet one's Waterloo means to suffer a crushing defeat."

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

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