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• 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.

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Achilles heel British  

noun

1. a small but fatal weakness

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Achilles' heel Cultural  

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

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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]

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Etymology

Origin of Achilles heel

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Achilles heel Achilles' heel

“His wealth is in one way his Achilles heel in the election,” Grose said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

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

"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

Before Singapore, you might have said that street circuits were Red Bull's Achilles heel, which would have led one to believe Las Vegas might be an issue for Verstappen.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2024

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

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

All villains and warriors have an Achilles’ heel, and for female roles in particular, it’s usually sacrificing themselves to protect their family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 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

Papic accepts that China has a heavy energy import dependency, but points out this is far less of an Achilles’ heel than most make out.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026

“The Achilles’ heel of the U.S. in economic warfare is our low tolerance for economic pain,” said Fishman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

Armed with 2,400 years' worth of extra mathematics, it is not hard for us to go back and find Zeno’s Achilles’ heel.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife