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• battery
  battery

  noun

  a combination of two or more cells electrically connected to work together to produce electric energy.
• Battery
  Battery

  noun

  The Battery, a park at the south end of Manhattan, in New York City.

battery

¹ American  

[bat-uh-ree] / ˈbæt ə ri /

noun

• batteries
  plural

1. Also called galvanic battery, voltaic battery. Electricity. a combination of two or more cells electrically connected to work together to produce electric energy.

2. any large group or series of related things.

   a battery of questions.

3. Military.

   1. two or more pieces of artillery used for combined action.

   2. a tactical unit of artillery, usually consisting of six guns together with the artillerymen, equipment, etc., required to operate them.

   3. a parapet or fortification equipped with artillery.

4. a group or series of similar articles, machines, parts, etc.

5. Baseball. the pitcher and catcher considered as a unit.

6. Navy.

   1. (on a warship) a group of guns having the same caliber or used for the same purpose.

   2. the whole armament of a warship.

7. Psychology. a series of tests yielding a single total score, used for measuring aptitude, intelligence, personality, etc.

8. the act of beating or battering.

9. Law. an unlawful attack upon another person by beating or wounding, or by touching in an offensive manner.

10. an instrument used in battering.

11. Music. Also the instruments comprising the percussion section of an orchestra.

12. any imposing group of persons or things acting or directed in unison.

    a battery of experts.

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Battery ² American  

[bat-uh-ree] / ˈbæt ə ri /

noun

1. The Battery, a park at the south end of Manhattan, in New York City.

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battery British  

/ ˈbætərɪ /

noun

1. 1. two or more primary cells connected together, usually in series, to provide a source of electric current

   2. short for dry battery

2. another name for accumulator

3. a number of similar things occurring together

   a battery of questions

4. criminal law unlawful beating or wounding of a person or mere touching in a hostile or offensive manner See also assault and battery

5. a fortified structure on which artillery is mounted

6. a group of guns, missile launchers, searchlights, or torpedo tubes of similar type or size operated as a single entity

7. a small tactical unit of artillery usually consisting of two or more troops, each of two, three or four guns

8. 1. a large group of cages for intensive rearing of poultry

   2. ( as modifier )

      battery hens

9. psychol a series of tests

10. chess two pieces of the same colour placed so that one can unmask an attack by the other by moving

11. the percussion section in an orchestra

12. baseball the pitcher and the catcher considered together

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battery Scientific  

/ băt′ə-rē /

1. A device containing an electric cell or a series of electric cells storing energy that can be converted into electrical power (usually in the form of direct current). Common household batteries, such as those used in a flashlight, are usually made of dry cells (the chemicals producing the current are made into a paste). In other batteries, such as car batteries, these chemicals are in liquid form.

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battery Cultural  

1. A device that produces an electric current (see also current) by harnessing the chemical reactions that take place within its cells.

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Closer Look

A battery stores chemical energy, which it converts to electrical energy. A typical battery, such as a car battery, is composed of an arrangement of galvanic cells. Each cell contains two metal electrodes, separate from each other, immersed within an electrolyte containing both positive and negative ions. A chemical reaction between the electrodes and the electrolyte, similar to that found in electroplating, takes place, and the metals dissolve in the electrolyte, leaving electrons behind on the electrodes. However, the metals dissolve at different rates, so a greater number of electrons accumulate at one electrode (creating the negative electrode) than at the other electrode (which becomes the positive electrode). This gives rise to an electric potential between the electrodes, which are typically linked together in series and parallel to one another in order to provide the desired voltage at the battery terminals (12 volts, for example, for a car battery). The buildup of charge on the electrodes prevents the metals from dissolving further, but if the battery is hooked up to an electric circuit through which current may flow, electrons are drawn out of the negative electrodes and into the positive ones, reducing their charge and allowing further chemical reactions.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• batteries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of battery

First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French batterie, equivalent to batt(re) “to beat” + -erie noun suffix; see bate ², -ery

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Explanation

Battery is (among other things) physical attack or assault: “He was arrested for battery after he hit his manager several times on the head with a large flashlight.” When you think of a battery, you probably envision the electrical devices that allow you to power everything in your life — from your car to your cell phone. However, battery has a whole host of meanings. In addition to beating someone as in "assault and battery," it also refers to a collection of artillery or guns: “He’s collected a battery of weapons; we hope he doesn’t intend to use them." Beyond guns, a battery can also refer to any group or collection of similar things: “She was subjected to a battery of tests, designed to determine whether she was a genius or just plain smart.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

battery Battery batteries

Major investments in battery energy storage, as well as a new state law legalizing plug-in solar, should also help move the needle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Decentralising energy provision through local generation, battery energy storage, microgrids and cogeneration have all been proposed to boost the supply, but time is not on Ukraine's side.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

A house fire in Leicestershire is believed to have been caused by a charging lithium-ion battery, firefighters have said.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

To skim costs in that shift, the company used cheap, faulty battery packs that, it turns out, were the real culprit for the drone failure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

With a groan, you remember the low battery warning during your lunchtime video chat with Shana.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

"We took a look at the market and said 'Hey, no-one's trying to attack this space, let's have Emerald Battery Labs attack it'," says Bell.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Battery fires are challenging to combat because, when a battery is damaged, a self-sustaining chemical reaction called thermal runaway can occur and easily spread to adjacent batteries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Battery researchers often remove this water because moisture is commonly viewed as harmful to battery materials.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Battery prices have fallen more than 90% since 2010, according to a BloombergNEF report from late last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

We parked outside Battery Park, at the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East Rivers came together and emptied into the bay.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

In some cases, the electrical currents generated by the disturbance were so powerful that telegraph systems continued operating without batteries.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026

"These batteries are used in many electrical products, and if they are damaged, defective or charged incorrectly, they can become unsafe," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Most of Nikola’s trucks that eventually went to market were recalled for fire-prone batteries and hydrogen tank issues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Sometimes the rechargeable batteries flagged, and we’d pull a pager out of rotation.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

There are at least four more batteries of nine-inch guns to the right of the farm, and behind the poplars they have put in trench mortars.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

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