battalion
Americannoun
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Military. a ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.
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an army in battle array.
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Often battalions. a large number of persons or things; force.
battalions of bureaucrats.
noun
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a military unit comprised of three or more companies or formations of similar size
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(usually plural) any large array
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of battalion
1580–90; < Middle French bataillon < Italian battaglione large squadron of soldiers, equivalent to battagli ( a ) battalia ( def. ) + -one augmentative suffix
Explanation
A battalion is a unit of an army. One battalion usually consists of three or more companies and a headquarters. The word battalion sounds a lot like battle, and that's a clue to its meaning: battalions are groups engaged in a battle. Specifically, a battalion is a smaller segment of an army. Within a battalion, there will usually be a headquarters, as well as a few smaller units, which are called companies. The members of a battalion will work closely together, whether they are attacking an enemy or defending a base. Veterans always remember the other soldiers in their battalion.
Vocabulary lists containing battalion
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He discovered that Stan was an infantryman with the 5th Battalion of the 1st Welsh Regiment.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Beth R. Smith confirmed that the entire 2nd Battalion 7th Marines received academic and practical training before deploying to Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Johnstone, from the 2nd Battalion of the Anglians, said they "move in the shadows essentially and identify the targets for the bulk of the United States and Polish forces that are in the area".
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
Pennington's hometown was Glendale, Kentucky, and he was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade out of Fort Carson, CO.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
Nothing else was heard from the beleaguered Americans, who had become known to the world as the Lost Battalion.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
