Byzantine fault tolerance

noun

The dependability of a fault-tolerant (distributed) computer system, where components may fail without perfect information about the state of the components.

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BFT
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Meanings

nounByzantine fault tolerance (usually uncountable, plural Byzantine fault tolerances)

plural Byzantine fault tolerances

  1. uncountableusuallycomputingThe dependability of a fault-tolerant (distributed) computer system, where components may fail without perfect information about the state of the components.

    Byzantine fault tolerance (BFT) came about since it represents a valid solution to the Byzantine Generals Problem. BFT is a crucial part of an effective blockchain platform, and there are multiple ways in which tolerance can be implemented.

    2020, Joseph Holbrook, Architecting Enterprise Blockchain Solutions, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 121

    Synonyms: BFT

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe dependability of a fault-tolerant (distributed) computer system, where components may fail without perfect information about the state of the components.

Similar
BFT

Origin

From an essay by American computer scientist Robert Shostak, who simplified the computing problem in a hypothetical siege by the Byzantine Empire. In the siege, a group of Byzantine generals, without central command and physically separated, need to vote to determine whether all troops should besiege the fortress or withdraw. Faults are personified as traitors who could vote selectively and messengers who could fail to deliver votes or forge them.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 拜占庭容錯
  • 拜占庭容錯 (bàizhàntíng róngcuò)dependability of a fault-tolerant computer system
Finnish bysanttilainen vikasietoisuus
  • bysanttilainen vikasietoisuusdependability of a fault-tolerant computer system
German byzantinische Fehlertoleranz
  • byzantinische Fehlertoleranzdependability of a fault-tolerant computer system
Polish problem bizantyjskich generałów
  • problem bizantyjskich generałówdependability of a fault-tolerant computer system
Cite this entry
APA

Byzantine fault tolerance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Byzantine%20fault%20tolerance

MLA

“Byzantine fault tolerance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Byzantine%20fault%20tolerance. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Byzantine fault tolerance,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Byzantine%20fault%20tolerance.

Source: Byzantine fault tolerance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.