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Achilles

[uh-kil-eez]

noun

Classical Mythology.
  1. the greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War and hero of Homer's Iliad. He killed Hector and was killed when Paris wounded him in the heel, his one vulnerable spot, with an arrow.



Achilles

/ ˌækɪˈliːən, əˈkɪliːz /

noun

  1. Greek myth Greek hero, the son of Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis: in the Iliad the foremost of the Greek warriors at the siege of Troy. While he was a baby his mother plunged him into the river Styx making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him. After slaying Hector, he was killed by Paris who wounded him in the heel

“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

  1. In classical mythology, the greatest warrior on the Greek side in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War). When he was an infant, his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river, but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable. During the Trojan War, he quarreled with the commander, Agamemnon, and in anger sulked in his tent. Eventually Achilles emerged to fight and killed the Trojan hero Hector, but he was wounded in the heel by an arrow and died shortly thereafter.

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Achilles is the hero of Homer's Iliad.
People speak of an “Achilles' heel” as the one weak or sore point in a person's character.
The phrase “wrath of Achilles” refers to the hero's anger, which caused so much destruction that Homer refers to it as his main theme in the first line of the Iliad.
The Achilles tendon runs from the heel to the calf.
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Other Word Forms

  • Achillean adjective
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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.

The veteran guard, who has been dealing with Achilles tendinopathy, took part in most of practice and displayed his defensive tenacity and communication.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

From the passenger seat, Vishnu Persaud coaches me on working the clutch: “So you’re going to slide your foot off the pedal. Just let the bottom of your foot pivot off your Achilles’ heel.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Smart has been dealing with Achilles tendinopathy most of training camp and has been limited in practice.

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They had put more on the shoulders of their rookie running back after losing veteran Najee Harris to a torn Achilles tendon in the second quarter of a Week 3 victory over Denver.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sciver-Brunt also confirmed that she is fully fit to bowl after recovering from an Achilles problem, meaning she has not bowled competitively since the Ashes.

Read more on BBC

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