as in back
a vulnerable point
the food supply proved to be the nation's Achilles' heel in its defense against terrorist attacks
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Recent Examples of Achilles' heel
Amir Levy/Getty The fact that Hamas is holding hostages seems to be Israel's Achilles' heel.
—
Meredith Wolf Schizer, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
This is the Achilles' heel of countless companies, as IT management and employee management must increasingly be considered holistically.
—Dennis-Kenji Kipker, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
The Republicans' Achilles' heel The new Achilles' heel for the GOP is spring court elections, which have become highly partisan and politically consequential.
—Craig Gilbert, jsonline.com, 18 July 2025
In Apple's case, solid-state drives have sometimes been an Achilles' heel.
—Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
The Red Storm have one of the best draws of the tournament and have improved their 3-point shooting drastically, which was an Achilles' heel early on.
—Vaughn Dalzell, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
Meredith Wolf Schizer, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
This is the Achilles' heel of countless companies, as IT management and employee management must increasingly be considered holistically.
—Dennis-Kenji Kipker, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
The Republicans' Achilles' heel The new Achilles' heel for the GOP is spring court elections, which have become highly partisan and politically consequential.
—Craig Gilbert, jsonline.com, 18 July 2025
In Apple's case, solid-state drives have sometimes been an Achilles' heel.
—Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 10 June 2025
The Red Storm have one of the best draws of the tournament and have improved their 3-point shooting drastically, which was an Achilles' heel early on.
—Vaughn Dalzell, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Achilles' heel
Noun
-
Besides its many uses in cooking, a lavender plant adds fragrance and color wherever it's planted—along a path, beside a patio, or in a pot on your back deck—thanks to a long blooming season.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
11 Sep. 2025
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Of course, the only reason Oracle is in this position is down to Ellison’s courting of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, which has allowed his company, previously a distinct back-of-the-pack cloud company, to secure a massive stockpile of top-of-the-line Nvidia GPUs.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Buy fresh-looking pumpkins without blemishes, soft spots, or rotting stems.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
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Despite the slight decline on Friday, stocks are still pricing in low odds of recession and forecasting that the Fed will begin rate cuts soon enough for this to remain a soft spot in the labor market rather than a full-fledged downturn.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Achilles' heel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Achilles%27%20heel. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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