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battalion

[ buh-tal-yuhn ]
/ bəˈtæl yən /
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noun
Military. a ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.
an army in battle array.
Often battalions. a large number of persons or things; force: battalions of bureaucrats.
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Origin of battalion

1580–90; <Middle French bataillon <Italian battaglione large squadron of soldiers, equivalent to battagli(a) battalia + -one augmentative suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM battalion

sub·bat·tal·i·on, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use battalion in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for battalion

battalion
/ (bəˈtæljən) /

noun
a military unit comprised of three or more companies or formations of similar size
(usually plural) any large array

Word Origin for battalion

C16: from French bataillon, from Old Italian battaglione, from battaglia company of soldiers, battle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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