How do you use the word "waterloo" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "waterloo": Napoleon's army lost the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The French were defeated at Waterloo.

Waterloo Meaning

/ˌwɔːtəˈluː/

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

proper nounA town in Belgium; by extension, a decisive defeat.

nameA village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815.

Sentence Examples

Napoleon's army lost the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The French were defeated at Waterloo.

Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.

CEFR Practice Quiz

After winning many matches, the boxer met his ____ in the final round.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The Battle of ____ was a major historical event that marked the final defeat of the French leader Napoleon today.

Word Origin & History

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.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"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:

"Surprisingly, Greenfield did not meet his Waterloo in this showdown with his competitors." — 2003, Frank Mackey, Steamboat Connections: Montreal to Upper Canada, 1816–1843:

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

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