Achilles heel

or Achilles' heel

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See synonyms for Achilles heel on Thesaurus.com

noun

a portion, spot, area, or the like, that is especially or solely vulnerable: His Achilles heel is his quick temper.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of Achilles heel

First recorded in 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Achilles heel in a sentence

Our visionary scientists have found the Achilles heel of yet another enemy of the State—the Superbug!
The Fake Superbug Cure|Kent Sepkowitz|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Obama, extremely/quite confident: 32 percent Romney, extremely/quite confident: 19 percent That's the Achilles Heel, gang.
Again I Shout It: Bain Is a Distraction|Michael Tomasky|May 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It is already beyond repair in Yemen, the Achilles heel of Arabia where the police state has fractured and fallen apart.
The End of Arab Police States?|Bruce Riedel|April 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Signatures will not be his Achilles heel—he knows well how the game is played in this city.
Rahm's Rough Road Ahead|John Conroy|September 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST

But it also represents the Achilles heel of a company that loves to look backward more than it does forward.
Could Ford Be Next?|Jeff Sabatini|May 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST
These countries are the “Achilles heel of the British Empire.”
German Problems and Personalities|Charles Sarolea

British Dictionary definitions for Achilles heel

Achilles heel

noun

a small but fatal weakness

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

Cultural definitions for Achilles heel

Achilles' heel

[ (uh-kil-eez) ]

A point of vulnerability. (See Achilles.)

Other Idioms and Phrases with Achilles heel

Achilles' heel

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]