verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈmiːt wʌnz ˌwɔːtə(ɹ)ˈluː/
General-American:/ˈmit wʌnz ˌwɔtɚˈluː/
General-American:/ˌwɑ-/
General-American:/ˈwɔtɚˌluː/
General-American:/ˈwɑ-/
General-American:[-ɾɚ-]
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
verb
Meaning 1
To be decisively defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
A reference to Napoleon’s defeat by armies of Britain and Prussia at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, which marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Waterloo is a municipality south of Brussels in what is now the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium.
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
遭遇滑鐵盧 /遭遇滑铁卢
(zāoyù Huátiělú)
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
French:
rencontrer son Waterloo
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
German:
sein Waterloo erleben
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
German:
sein Stalingrad erleben
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
Norwegian Bokmål:
møte sitt Waterloo
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
Serbo-Croatian:
doživjeti svoj Waterloo
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
Serbo-Croatian:
doživeti svoj Waterloo
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
Spanish:
a todo cerdo le llega su san Martín
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
Vietnamese:
phơi áo
— to be defeated by an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult
