an Achilles' heel



an Achilles' heel

a small fault in a person or system which might cause them to fail
Usage notes: Achilles was a man in Greek mythology (= an ancient set of stories) who was killed when he was injured on the heel. This was the only part of his body where he could be harmed.
As a team they're strong on attack but they have a weak defence that might prove to be their Achilles' heel. Vanity was his Achilles heel.
See also: heel

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Molina[mə'li:nə]
Olegah-LYEKRussian
FfionFEE-awn, FI-awnWelsh
LindyLIN-deeEnglish
Feibush-Yiddish
Consolatakon-so-LAH-tahItalian