Fatigue

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /fəˈtiːɡ/

Origin

From French fatigue, from fatiguer, from Latin fatigare ("to weary, tire, vex, harass")

Full definition of fatigue

Noun

1. A weariness caused by exertion; exhaustion.
• 2012, December 29, Paul Doyle, Arsenal's Theo Walcott hits hat-trick in thrilling victory over Newcastle, Alan Pardew finished by far the most frustrated man at the Emirates, blaming fatigue for the fact that Arsenal were able to kill his team off in the dying minutes.
2. A menial task, especially in the military.
3. (engineering) A mechanism of material failure involving of crack growth caused by low-stress cyclic loading.
• 2013, N. Dowling, Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, page 399Mechanical failures due to fatigue have been the subject of engineering efforts for more than 150 years.

Synonyms

Derived terms

• fatigues military work clothing

Verb

1. (transitive) to tire or make weary by physical or mental exertion
2. (intransitive) to lose so much strength or energy that one becomes tired, weary, feeble or exhausted
3. (intransitive, engineering, of a material specimen) to undergo the process of fatigue; to fail as a result of fatigue.

Related terms

• fatigable
• indefatigable