Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The hero of Homer's Iliad, the son of Peleus and Thetis and slayer of Hector.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An argument, otherwise called ‘Achilles and the Tortoise,’ which was proposed by Zeno of Elea to prove that motion is impossible.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a mythical Greek hero of the Iliad; a foremost Greek warrior at the seige of Troy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Greek mythology semi-divine hero, son of Peleus and the nymph Thetis, prince and leader of the Myrmidons; great warrior of the Achaean (Greek) camp, killed in the Trojan War; central character of the Iliad.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a mythical Greek hero of the Iliad; a foremost Greek warrior at the siege of Troy; when he was a baby his mother tried to make him immortal by bathing him in a magical river but the heel by which she held him remained vulnerable--his `Achilles' heel'

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin Achilles, from Ancient Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Akhilleus).

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Examples

  • ARTEMIS AND ACHILLES when Achilles was still a puppy and being trained by ultra-Zen Artemis on how to live with cats:

    Archive 2009-01-01 2009

  • ARTEMIS AND ACHILLES when Achilles was still a puppy and being trained by ultra-Zen Artemis on how to live with cats:

    ARTEMIS AND ACHILLES 2009

  • The Achilles 'heel of American corporate fascism is BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS yahooBuzzArticleHeadline =' The Achilles\ 'heel of American corporate fascism is BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS'; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = 'Article: The number one unplayed card in the American progressive social/political deck is nation wide, internet-orchestrated, targeted corporate boycotts.'

    The Achilles' heel of American corporate fascism is BOYCOTTS, BOYCOTTS, & MORE BOYCOTTS 2006

  • The Iraq War: Hillary Clinton's Achilles 'Heel? yahooBuzzArticleHeadline =' The Iraq War: Hillary Clinton\'s Achilles\ 'Heel?'

    The Iraq War: Hillary Clinton's Achilles' Heel? 2007

  • Well, seeing how the term Achilles Heel is defined by Wikipedia as a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall, I'd have to say no, or not that I've found yet.

    MyLinkVault Newest Links 2009

  • Fell back to energy every time she got a question that she couldn't handle, apparently does not understand the term Achilles heel.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz 2008

  • "This is one of the first and largest studies so far where they are targeting what I call the Achilles heel of cancers," he said Monday from Vancouver.

    Canadian Online Health News 2010

  • Some have said that Malvolios treatment borders on cruel and I admit Brown is now so pathetic it is becoming hard to watch … then again Achilles whose sulking in his tent and obsession with his servant is played for laughs in Troilus and Cressida.

    Labour Play The Race Card Again Newmania 2008

  • Why didn't any of the Trojans build something to hit Achilles from a safe distance while he was posturing out on the plain?

    2008 Lenten Read-a-Thon Day 34 2008

  • Why didn't any of the Trojans build something to hit Achilles from a safe distance while he was posturing out on the plain?

    Archive 2008-03-01 2008

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