battalion
Americannoun
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battalions
plural
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Chains
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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.
See Examples For:
The commander of one battalion is offering troops who sign up for more years of service four days off for the November 19 launch of the highly anticipated video game.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
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
Some have been carried out by the 413th separate battalion "Raid" of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, whose commander, Yevhen Karas, spoke to the BBC from an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
As imagined by director Travis Knight—best known for another toys-to-screen saga, 2018’s “Transformers” sequel “Bumblebee”—and a battalion of screenwriters, the new He-Man, lost prince from the planet Eternia, is a meek cubicle dweller named Adam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“This is a reinforced American battalion, with artillery and air support. There won’t be a VC for ten miles around tonight.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The UK government said it would provide military helicopters for heavy lifting, along with support from stand-by battalions, after a major incident was declared at the weekend.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
The adversary forces were “able to eliminate two battalions in a day,” so that “in an exercise sense, basically, they were not able to fight anymore after that.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Today some 40 battalions defend that border, but such a deployment is difficult to maintain over the long haul.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2024
Under an agreement with the Kenyan government, up to six infantry battalions per year carry out eight-week exercises in Kenya.
From BBC ● May 30, 2024
Johnson agreed to send two battalions of combat troops to protect the base.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
