fatigues

American  

[fuh-teegz] / fəˈtigz /

plural noun

1. a military uniform worn while performing manual labor or while in the field.

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Etymology

Origin of fatigues

First recorded in 1830–40

Explanation

Fatigues are the casual clothes that military personnel wear. Fatigues sometimes have a camouflage pattern. When you see Army soldiers wearing camouflage trousers and jackets, you can say they've got their fatigues on. Another name for fatigues is "battledress," as opposed to the more formal dress uniforms worn by members of all military branches. Fatigues are what soldiers wear when they're working or engaging in battle. In the 1770's, fatigues meant "extra duties of a soldier," from fatigue, or tiredness. It came to also mean "military clothing" in the mid-1880's.

Example Sentences

Dressed in olive green fatigues, Raúl Castro stood next to Díaz-Canel and a line of aged Cuban officials.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

No longer in military fatigues but a black tracksuit and with a prosthetic limb, Volodymyr was speaking at a football tournament in the town of Pavlograd, one he used to play in before his injury.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

Has he merely—as some seem to believe—swapped combat fatigues for a tie, or has he undergone a genuine political and moral conversion?

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Incessant scrolling, posting and the rapid, gluttonous consumption of that awful word, “content,” fatigues all of us, whether we admit it or not.

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025

He pulled a rosary from the pocket of his fatigues and began to say the first decade of the rosary.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy