fatigue

[ fuh-teeg ]
See synonyms for: fatiguefatiguedfatiguesfatiguing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. weariness from bodily or mental exertion.

  2. a cause of weariness; slow ordeal; exertion: the fatigue of driving for many hours.

  1. Physiology. temporary diminution of the irritability or functioning of organs, tissues, or cells after excessive exertion or stimulation.

  2. Civil Engineering. the weakening or breakdown of material subjected to stress, especially a repeated series of stresses.

  3. Also called fatigue duty .Military.

    • labor of a generally nonmilitary kind done by soldiers, such as cleaning up an area, digging drainage ditches, or raking leaves.

    • the state of being engaged in such labor: on fatigue.

  4. fatigues. Military. See entry at fatigues.

adjective
  1. of or relating to fatigues or any clothing made to resemble them: The guerrilla band wore fatigue pants and field jackets.She brought fatigue shorts to wear on the hike.

verb (used with object),fa·tigued, fa·ti·guing.
  1. to weary with bodily or mental exertion; exhaust the strength of: Endless chatter fatigues me.

  2. Civil Engineering. to subject (a material) to fatigue.

verb (used without object),fa·tigued, fa·ti·guing.
  1. to become tired or exhausted.

  2. Civil Engineering. (of a material) to undergo fatigue.

Origin of fatigue

1
First recorded in 1685–95; from French verb fatiguer, from Latin fatīgāre “to tire”; noun derived from the verb

Other words for fatigue

Other words from fatigue

  • fa·tigue·less, adjective
  • fa·ti·guing·ly, adverb
  • an·ti·fa·tigue, adjective
  • un·fa·ti·guing, adjective

Words Nearby fatigue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fatigue in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fatigue

fatigue

/ (fəˈtiːɡ) /


noun
  1. physical or mental exhaustion due to exertion

  2. a tiring activity or effort

  1. physiol the temporary inability of an organ or part to respond to a stimulus because of overactivity

  2. the progressive cracking of a material subjected to alternating stresses, esp vibrations

  3. the temporary inability to respond to a situation or perform a function, because of overexposure or overactivity: compassion fatigue

    • any of the mainly domestic duties performed by military personnel, esp as a punishment

    • (as modifier): fatigue duties

  4. (plural) special clothing worn by military personnel to carry out such duties

verb-tigues, -tiguing or -tigued
  1. to make or become weary or exhausted

  2. to crack or break (a material or part) by inducing fluctuating stresses in it, or (of a metal or part) to become weakened or fail as a result of fluctuating stresses

Origin of fatigue

1
C17: from French, from fatiguer to tire, from Latin fatīgāre

Derived forms of fatigue

  • fatigable (ˈfætɪɡəbəl), adjective
  • fatigueless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012