What does "waterloo" mean?

1. (a final defeat) a final, crushing defeat that ends someone's power or success. 2. (historical battle/place) the name of a village in Belgium where Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815.

waterloo — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01a final defeat

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Literary

n. a final, crushing defeat that ends someone's power or success.

n. a decisive, final defeat or setback, especially one that occurs after a period of great success.

“The scandal proved to be the politician's Waterloo, and he resigned the next day.”

“After years of aggressive market expansion, the company met its Waterloo when it failed to account for the sudden shift in consumer privacy laws.”

Usage

Commonly used in the idiom 'to meet one's Waterloo'.

Synonyms

downfall defeat undoing

Antonyms

triumph victory

02historical battle/place

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the name of a village in Belgium where Napoleon was finally defeated in 1815.

n. the site in present-day Belgium of the Battle of Waterloo (1815), which resulted in the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.

“Many tourists visit Waterloo to see the monuments on the old battlefield.”

“The Battle of Waterloo remains one of the most studied military engagements in European history due to its profound geopolitical consequences.”

From Middle Dutch, composed of water (“water”) + loo (“sacred wood, forest”). More at water, lea. cf. German Loh. Most places in English-speaking countries are named for the battle.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.