/ˈwɔtərˌlu, ˈwɒtər-, ˌwɔtərˈlu, ˌwɒtər-; for 1 also Flemish ˈvɑtərˌloʊ/Show Spelled[waw-ter-loo, wot-er-, waw-ter-loo, wot-er-; for 1 also Flemishvah-tuhr-loh]Show IPA
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.
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)
battle took place June 18, 1815, at village near Brussels; extended sense of "a final, crushing defeat" is first attested 1816 in letter of Lord Byron. The second element in the place name is from Flemish loo "sacred wood."