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waterloo

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

8 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "waterloo", 8-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "waterloo" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "waterloo" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

Waterloo is aEnglishname. It means: A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815. Pronounced /ˌwɔːtəˈluː/.

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Key facts for Waterloo
PropertyValue
HeadwordWaterloo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechName
IPA/ˌwɔːtəˈluː/
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,668
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of Waterloo in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Waterloo is 8 letters long, classified as aname, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌwɔːtəˈluː/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,668 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 42 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Waterloo, with forms such as "awterloo", "waetrloo", and "watelroo". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is Waterloo, spelled W-A-T-E-R-L-O-O, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815.
  2. 2
    A battle fought at Waterloo, Belgium on June 18, 1815, resulting in the epic, final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
  3. 3
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  4. 4
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  5. 5
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  6. 6
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  7. 7
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  8. 8
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  9. 9
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  10. 10
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  11. 11
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  12. 12
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  13. 13
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  14. 14
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  15. 15
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  16. 16
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  17. 17
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  18. 18
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  19. 19
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  20. 20
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  21. 21
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  22. 22
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  23. 23
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  24. 24
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  25. 25
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  26. 26
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  27. 27
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  28. 28
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  29. 29
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  30. 30
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  31. 31
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  32. 32
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  33. 33
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  34. 34
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  35. 35
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  36. 36
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  37. 37
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  38. 38
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  39. 39
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  40. 40
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  41. 41
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
  42. 42
    The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.

Etymology

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.

Synonyms

Battle of Waterloo

This word in other languages

Waterloo(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: awterloo,waetrloo,watelroo,waterlloo,waterlo,waterolo,waterrloo,watreloo,watterloo,wtaerloo,wwaterloo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for Waterloo

Misspelling Variants of "Waterloo"

awterloo8waetrloo8watelroo8waterlloo9waterlo7waterolo8waterrloo9watreloo8
Misspelling Variants of "Waterloo"

Frequency rank: #14,668 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Waterloo"?
"Waterloo" is spelled W-A-T-E-R-L-O-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌwɔːtəˈluː/.
What does "Waterloo" mean?
As a name, "Waterloo" means: A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815.
What are common misspellings of "Waterloo"?
Common misspellings include "awterloo", "waetrloo", "watelroo", "waterlloo", "waterlo". The correct spelling is "Waterloo".
How do you pronounce "Waterloo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Waterloo" is /ˌwɔːtəˈluː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Waterloo"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.