waterloo means A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815. It carries an Arena rating of 1623, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, waterloo ranks #96 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #351 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #535 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,788 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
waterloo is pronounced /ˌwɔːtəˈluː/.
Why “waterloo” is a great word
A decisive and final defeat, especially after a period of success, that ends a career or ambition. From the place name Waterloo in Belgium, from Middle Dutch water ("water") + loo ("sacred wood, forest; clearing"), its figurative sense deriving from the Battle of Waterloo (1815), the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. Unlike a "setback," which implies a temporary check, or a "downfall," which describes a general collapse, a Waterloo is the single, catastrophic engagement that concludes the long campaign. It is the chess master's fatal blunder after a flawless game, the politician's perfect scandal that erases a lifetime of service, the gambler's last, disastrous bet that cleans him out—the moment when accumulated fortune meets the geometry of its own irrevocable end.
Etymology
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.
name
- A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815.
- A battle fought at Waterloo, Belgium on June 18, 1815, resulting in the epic, final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A place in Canada:; A rural community of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A place in Canada:; A regional municipality and city in Ontario, Canada.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A place in Canada:; A city in La Haute-Yamaska regional county municipality, Estrie, Quebec.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in San Joaquin County, California.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A city, the county seat of Monroe County, Illinois.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A town in Grant Township and Smithfield Township, DeKalb County, Indiana.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A township and unincorporated community therein, in Fayette County, Indiana.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in White River Township, Johnson County, Indiana.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A city, the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A village and town, the county seat of Seneca County, New York.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A town in Grant County, Wisconsin.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A town and city therein, in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.
- The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.; A number of places in the United States:; A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Waterloo Township.
noun
- Often in the term meet one's Waterloo: a notable and decisive defeat following an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult.e.g.“He flung his dime at a newsboy, got his Express, propped his back against the truck, and was at once rapt in the account of his Waterloo as expanded by the ingenious press.” — 1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 173, column 1:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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