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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Origin of Achilles heel

First recorded in 1800–10

Words nearby Achilles heel

achievement test, achilary, Achill, achillea, Achilles, Achilles heel, Achilles jerk, Achilles tendon, Achill Island, achimenes, Achinese

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

How to use Achilles heel in a sentence

His goal: to make the perfect (and absolutely comfortable) high-heel, with the help from Nike CEO Mark Parker.
What, and Who, You'll Be Wearing in 2015|Justin Jones|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The high heel has gone through endless aesthetic changes throughout the years.
The Coolest Fashion Innovations of 2014|Raquel Laneri|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Acts of violence include death by hanging, rifle butt, boot heel, tank tracks and fireball.
‘Fury’: A Ludicrous WWII Movie More Violent Than ‘Inglourious Basterds’|Nico Hines|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Around 3am, my spindly legs are beginning to ache from balancing on deck, as we heel with each tack.
Inside Sailing’s Biggest Race|Lizzie Crocker|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The high heel is revolutionary, and evolutionary, as an engrossing Brooklyn Museum show reveals.
Up, Up, Up: The Hottest High Heels in History|Lizzie Crocker|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The left heel followed like lightning, and the right paw also slipped, letting the bear again fall heavily on the ice below.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
And with another bow the man from Paris drew himself erect, turned on his heel, and went jingling and creaking from the room.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
With which magnanimous sentiment he turned on his clumsy heel, and entered his apartment again.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
He believes, he has an instinct, that here is the heel of the German Colossus, otherwise immune to our arrows.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the little glittering circlet.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin

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]