ACHILLES

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

• ACHILLES (noun)
  The noun ACHILLES has 1 sense:

1. 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'

  Familiarity information: ACHILLES used as a noun is very rare.

• ACHILLES (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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'

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

mythical being (an imaginary being of myth or fable)

 Context examples 

The ever-changing “head” of an influenza virus protein has an unexpected Achilles heel, report scientists.

(Human antibody reveals hidden vulnerability in influenza virus, National Institutes of Health)

However, MXenes have an Achilles’ heel: they rapidly degrade when kept in the open.

(Vitamin C is key to protection of new nanomaterial, National Science Foundation)

One of many blood vessels arising from the posterior tibial artery supplying the fat and integument of the heel and Achilles tendon as well as the muscles on the inner side of the sole.

(Internal Calcanean Artery, NCI Thesaurus)