Waterloo, Battle of

views updated

Waterloo, Battle of a battle fought on 18 June 1815 near the village of Waterloo (in what is now Belgium), in which Napoleon's army was conclusively defeated by the British (under the Duke of Wellington) and Prussians. Waterloo is often used as a word for a decisive defeat or failure.
Waterloo ball a frivolous entertainment preceding a serious occurrence (with reference to a ball given in Brussels by the Duchess of Richmond on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo).

More From encyclopedia.com