achilles' heel
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Everyone has an Achilles' heel.Ai trong chúng ta cũng có gót chân A-sin.
Tatoeba sentence #13613122 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Imported from Wikipedia “English-language idioms” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “achilles' heel” mean?
A small but fatal weakness in spite of overall strength.
Is “achilles' heel” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.