English

Proper noun

Waterloo

1. The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
2. A battle fought at Waterloo, Belgium on June 18, 1815, resulting in the epic, final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
3. A district and large railway terminus in central London, England.

Synonyms

• (battle): Battle of Waterloo

Noun

Waterloo ‎(plural Waterloos)

1. A notable and decisive defeat for an individual; often in the phrase “to meet one’s Waterloo”.
   • 1903, O. Henry, Hygeia at the Solito:

     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.

   • 2003, Frank Mackey, Steamboat Connections: Montreal to Upper Canada, 1816–1843:

     Surprisingly, Greenfield did not meet his Waterloo in this showdown with his competitors.

   • 2003, Craig B. Stanford, Upright: The Evolutionary Key to Becoming Human:

     The skull ended up as Dubois’ personal Waterloo. His work received nothing but rejection and derision throughout the next decade, and the bones became dark secrets for much of the early twentieth century, locked away in Dubois’ home, unavailable for study by other scholars.

Italian

Noun

waterloo m ‎(invariable)

1. Waterloo (great defeat or failure)