Showing results for Achilles tendon. Search instead for Achilles's+tendon.

Achilles tendon

American

Or Achilles' tendon

noun

Anatomy.

the tendon joining the calf muscles to the heel bone.

Achilles tendon British

noun

the fibrous cord that connects the muscles of the calf to the heelbone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Achilles tendon Cultural

A tendon connecting the heel bone with the calf muscle of the leg.

Discover More

In Greek legend, the hero Achilles could be wounded only in the heel.

Etymology

Origin of Achilles tendon

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As he watched Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum roll on the floor gripping his ankle, O’Malley’s worst fear—and professional opinion—was that Tatum had torn his Achilles tendon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

He suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon in March 2025 and underwent back surgery last October.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

He suffered severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash before undergoing a back operation in September 2024 and suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon last March.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026

Woods missed all of the 2025 season as he recovered from a back surgery the previous year and surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon in March.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

Achilles tendon, the great tendon of the heel, where Achilles was vulnerable.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023