Showing results for "fatigues"

• present tense form of fatigue (3rd person singular).

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

See Examples For:

fatigues

Some people waiting in food lines say they miss the leadership of a man who bestrode the island in his trademark green military fatigues and whose memory still looms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Meeting in Ankara with Sharaa, who has traded his guerrilla fatigues for a suit, Trump said, "He's doing an unbelievable job in unifying Syria. What a job he's doing."

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

TV footage showed police commandos in fatigues entering the Senate building in Manila early on Wednesday evening, with anti-riot policemen with shields and helmets surrounding the perimeter.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Dunne died aged 99 in 2019, but Haywood waited patiently this week to present Harry a photo of her mother alongside him, in his army fatigues.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

One night a brown-haired soldier wearing olive- drab fatigues stepped across the threshold of my suite.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals