Jump To:

• Achilles heel
  Achilles heel

  noun

  a portion, spot, area, or the like, that is especially or solely vulnerable.
• Achilles' heel
  Achilles' heel

  A point of vulnerability. (See Achilles.)

Achilles heel

American  

Or Achilles' heel

noun

1. a portion, spot, area, or the like, that is especially or solely vulnerable.

   His Achilles heel is his quick temper.

---

Achilles heel British  

noun

1. a small but fatal weakness

---

Achilles' heel Cultural  

1. A point of vulnerability. (See Achilles.)

---

Achilles' heel Idioms  

1. A fatal weakness, a vulnerable area, as in This division, which is rarely profitable, is the company's Achilles' heel. The term alludes to the Greek legend about the heroic warrior Achilles whose mother tried to make him immortal by holding the infant by his heel and dipping him into the River Styx. Eventually he was killed by an arrow shot into his undipped heel. [c. 1800]

---

Etymology

Origin of Achilles heel

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Achilles heel Achilles' heel

Even China’s imports of crude, previously an Achilles heel given its heavy dependence on energy to fuel its economy, dropped 8.8% as electric vehicles continue to dominate the market for autos domestically.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026

Could Achilles injuries be the Achilles heel of the NBA?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025

"We discovered an Achilles heel of antibiotic resistant bacteria," said Süel, a member of the Department of Molecular Biology at UC San Diego.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2024

It's the Achilles heel of authoritarians throughout time.

From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2024

“You know what an Achilles heel is, Eddie?”

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

A new study has found a way to avoid what has proven to be the Achilles’ heel of momentum strategies — their tendency to occasionally crash and burn.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The Achilles’ heel of Chinese industrial policy is its cost and waste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

"Banerjee's long electoral success rested on a delicate equilibrium between welfare and organisation. But the very organisation that sustained her for 15 years also became her Achilles' heel," says political scientist Bhanu Joshi.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

President Donald Trump will want to avoid at all costs a prolonged surge in oil prices, which would become his political Achilles' heel.

From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026

She’s the Achilles’ heel of their marriage, and it’s only noticeable if you’ve been watching it for sixteen years like I have.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas