weak link


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]

Words Nearby weak link

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use weak link in a sentence

  • Here, then, was the weak link in Ruiz Gregorio's chain twisted to the breaking point at the very outset.

    Empire Builders | Francis Lynde
  • Every man taught how a weak link may break a chain and realizing himself as a link and only a link!

    The Last Shot | Frederick Palmer