fatigues

Noun

fatigue (countable and uncountable, plural fatigues)

1. A weariness caused by exertion; exhaustion.
   • My husband stayed for some days with the magistrate at Cardwell, recruiting his health and recovering from his fatigues, for the passage between Cape York and Cardwell had proved the most tedious and anxious part of the voyage.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 181
2. (in plural, often) A menial task or tasks, especially in the military.
   • Moreover, the habits of business are the most enduring of any; and Lord Norbourne's most positive enjoyment was in what are called the fatigues of office.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Opinions”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 112
3. Weakening and eventual failure of material, typically by cracking leading to complete separation, caused by repeated application of mechanical stress to the material.
   • Mechanical failures due to fatigue have been the subject of engineering efforts for more than 150 years.2013, N. Dowling, Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, page 399

See all 8 meanings of fatigue