weak link

Idioms  

1. The least dependable member of a group, as in The shipping department, slow in getting out orders, is our weak link in customer service, or They're all very capable designers except for Ron, who is clearly the weak link. This expression alludes to the fragile portion of a chain, where it is most likely to break. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

While private-equity deals and asset sales are continuing the recovery begun last year, fundraising remains the weak link.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Fundraising, however, remains the weak link in private-equity’s recovery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

During the regular season he was among the six worst quarterbacks under pressure, throwing as many picks as touchdowns — six — while proving to be this team’s weak link.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

They are just looking for a weak link, he tells Panorama.

From BBC • Jul. 21, 2025

This weak link is made even weaker by glancing back to a recent decade, the 1960s, when the economy went on a wild growth spurt—as did violent crime.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt