battalion

American  

[buh-tal-yuhn] / bəˈtæl jən /

noun

• battalions
  plural

1. Military. a ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.

2. an army in battle array.

3. Often battalions. a large number of persons or things; force.

   battalions of bureaucrats.

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battalion British  

/ bəˈtæljən /

noun

1. a military unit comprised of three or more companies or formations of similar size

2. (usually plural) any large array

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subbattalion
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• battalions
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

battalion battalions

On Wednesday, the military said it deployed an additional infantry battalion, which typically has hundreds of troops, to the area to patrol and protect it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

After the Redlands deputy police chief, the second-highest-paid employee in 2025 was a Los Angeles Fire Department battalion chief, followed by a transmission and distribution supervisor with the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

Explosions had also been heard in Bakhchisarai, Kerch and in the area of Mount Ai-Petri, where the radio engineering battalion of the Russian Aerospace Forces is based.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

County Fire battalion chief reported a structure on fire at the same intersection, according to last week’s county report.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

“Our battalion is made up of field engineers and we use only the mighty ogbunigwe.”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

That success, and the money that nourishes it, has battalions of fans beyond Los Angeles all but marching outside ballparks with picket signs reading “SALARY CAP NOW.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Inside the courtroom, Gonzalez Rogers showed a mix of humor and toughness as she wrangled battalions of dark-suited attorneys lined up against each other in the wood-paneled room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

He said in a speech on Tuesday that he wants the Army to have "battalions of one-way attack drones".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024

It subsequently scaled down combat operations across northern Gaza, declaring that Hamas’s local battalions had been dismantled.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2024

Hark, the wild wandering lines in black battalions, Heaven’s horns and hunters, dawn-bright hounds and stallions.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• army
• contingent
• corps
• legion
• squadron
• unit