waterloo

IPA/ˌwɔːtəˈluː/
KK[wˈɔtɚlˌu]IPA/ˌwɔːtərˈluː/

waterloo — 名詞

1. a complete loss or setback that brings an end to a person's or group's earlier s

1.名詞C1
釋義

滑鐵盧；慘敗

最終的、決定性的失敗

a complete loss or setback that brings an end to a person's or group's earlier success, influence, or efforts

例句

The ambitious plan to expand overseas proved to be the company's waterloo.

那項大規模的海外擴張計劃，最終成了該公司的滑鐵盧。

possessive pattern: [person/organisation]'s waterloo

For the veteran politician, the scandal over campaign funds became her political waterloo.

對那位資深政治人物而言，競選資金的醜聞成了她的政治滑鐵盧。

collocation: political waterloo

常見搭配
  • meet one's waterloo
  • political waterloo
  • the company's waterloo
  • prove to be someone's waterloo
  • become someone's waterloo
同義詞
  • downfall

    more common in everyday speech; less tied to the idea of a final battle

  • undoing

    emphasises that the person caused their own defeat through their actions

  • ruin

    stronger and more permanent; implies total destruction, not just defeat

  • crushing defeat

    more literal and descriptive; lacks the historical reference of 'waterloo'

反義詞
  • triumph

    a great victory or achievement

  • comeback

    a return to success after a period of difficulty

用法筆記

Often used in the possessive pattern '[person/organisation]'s waterloo' or with the verb 'meet' in the phrase 'meet one's waterloo'. The word usually appears with a possessive determiner (his, her, its, the company's).

常見錯誤

The team reached their waterloo after losing three games.
The team met their waterloo after losing three games.
The standard verb used with 'waterloo' is 'meet', not 'reach'.
Waterloo is a type of defeat.
A waterloo is a very specific kind of defeat
one that is final and ends a period of success.' — Using 'waterloo' without a possessive sounds unnatural in most contexts.

waterloo — 慣用語

常見搭配

名詞搭配

副詞搭配

常用片語

  • someone's political waterloo
  • meet one's Waterloo