weakest link

English

Alternative forms

• weak link

Etymology

The figurative sense comes by metaphor from the literal sense: the notion that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. (See historical details there.)

Noun

weakest link (plural weakest links)

1. (also figurative) The part of a system that is most likely to cause problems or fail.

Synonyms

• Achilles heel
• weak point

Related terms

• a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

Translations

the part of a system that is most likely to fail or cause problems

• Arabic: الحَلَقَةُ الأَضْعَف m (al-ḥalaqatu l-ʔaḍʕaf)
• Dutch: zwakste schakel m or f
• Finnish: heikoin lenkki
• French: maillon faible (fr) m
• German: schwächstes Glied n
• Hungarian: leggyengébb láncszem
• Italian: anello debole m
• Polish: najsłabsze ogniwo n
• Russian: сла́бое звено́ n (sláboje zvenó)
• Spanish: eslabón más débil m
• Swedish: svagaste länken c (definite), akilleshäl (sv) c

Further reading

• Weakest Link (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “weakest link”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “the weakest link”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “the weak weakest link” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.