Achilles' heel

Achilles' heel
n. a person's weak or vulnerable point.
Etymology: L Achilles f. Gk Akhilleus, a hero in the Iliad, invulnerable except in the heel

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noun
a seemingly small but actual mortal weakness
• Hypernyms: ↑weak part, ↑weak spot, ↑soft spot

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n
weakness, weak point, weak spot, vulnerable point, fault, failing, imperfection
COLLOQ. chink in your armour

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▶ noun WEAK SPOT, weak point, weakness, soft underbelly, shortcoming, failing, imperfection, flaw, defect, chink in one's armour.
strength.

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\\əˈkilēzˈh-\ noun
Usage: usually capitalized A
Etymology: so called from the story that Achilles was invulnerable except in the heel
: a vulnerable point

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Achilles' heel see under ↑Achillean
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Main Entry: ↑heel

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Achilles’ heel UK [əˌkɪliːz ˈhiːl] US [əˈkɪliz ˌhil] noun [singular]
a weak feature that someone or something has that could cause failure or could be attacked
Thesaurus: faultssynonym

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Achilles' heel,
a weak point; vulnerable place: »

Despite chronic shortages of some foods, farm production cannot be considered the Achilles' heel of Russia's economy (Wall Street Journal).

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Achilles' heel
see heel n.1

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Achilles' heel — {n. phr.}, {literary} A physical or psychological weakness named after the Greek hero Achilles who was invulnerable except for a spot on his heel. * /John s Achilles heel is his lack of talent with numbers and math./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Achilles' heel — {n. phr.}, {literary} A physical or psychological weakness named after the Greek hero Achilles who was invulnerable except for a spot on his heel. * /John s Achilles heel is his lack of talent with numbers and math./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Achilles Heel — may refer to:* Achilles heel, a metaphor for a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength * Achilles Heel (band), a band from New York state * Achilles Heel (album), an album by Pedro the Lion * Achilles tendon …   Wikipedia

  • achilles' heel — A person s weak spot is their Achilles heel …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Achilles heel — ► NOUN ▪ a weakness or vulnerable point. ORIGIN from the mythological Greek hero Achilles, whose mother plunged him into the River Styx when he was a baby, thus making his body invulnerable except for the heel by which she held him …   English terms dictionary

  • Achilles' heel — Achilles heel, Achilles tendon Use an apostrophe in both expressions for consistency, even though the connection with Achilles is remote in the second …   Modern English usage

  • Achilles' heel — n. (one s) vulnerable or susceptible spot * * * …   Universalium

  • Achilles’ heel — [n] vulnerability chink in the armor*, deficiency, frailty, handicap, soft underbelly*, susceptibility, weakness; concepts 101,230,411,580 …   New thesaurus

  • Achilles' heel — n. (one s) vulnerable or susceptible spot …   English World dictionary

  • Achilles' heel — This article deals with the phrase. For other uses, see Achilles Heel. An Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical… …   Wikipedia

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