achilles heel
/əˌkɪl.iːz ˈhiːl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.32 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A vulnerability in an otherwise strong situation.
noun
The Achilles tendon, the tendo Achillis.
Example Sentences
- "A good all-round golfer, playing out of bunkers is my Achilles heel."
- "In nearly all respects he is an admirable agent of the USSR, but his gross physical habits and predilections are an Achilles heel of which we have been able to take advantage from time to time and one of his mistresses is a Eurasian (No 1860) controlled by Station F, who has recently been able to obtain insight into his private affairs."
- "It might seem counter-intuitive, but getting right up in the Demoman's face is the Achillees heel to the power of his explosives."
Etymology
From the Greek hero Achilles, whom according to legend his mother held by the heel when she dipped him in the River Styx, making him invulnerable everywhere except on his heel. He was later killed by an arrow wound to the heel. Although the legend is ancient, the phrase only entered English in the 19th century. It is used as a metaphor for vulnerability, as in the earliest citation, an essay by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˌkɪl.iːz ˈhiːl/
- British English: /əˌkɪl.iːz ˈhiːl/