fault tolerance
compound.compound. the ability of a system to keep working even if one of its parts fails. It is like having a backup plan that starts automatically so the whole machine does not stop.
compound. the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of one or more of its components. Often achieved through redundancy or fail-safe mechanisms to ensure high availability.
The server has high fault tolerance to prevent data loss.
Engineers designed the aircraft with high fault tolerance, ensuring that if one engine fails, the plane can still fly safely to its destination.
In distributed computing, achieving fault tolerance requires sophisticated consensus algorithms to maintain a consistent state across multiple nodes despite individual hardware malfunctions or network partitions.
Compound of the Middle English fault, derived from the Old French faute, and tolerance, from the Latin tolerantia. The term emerged in technical literature during the mid-twentieth century as computing systems required descriptions for resilient architectural design.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly used in engineering, computing, and systems design; often paired with 'high' or 'low'.
Last updated July 22, 2026