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
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:
Days later, the Pentagon said 5,000 U.S. soldiers would leave by year-end and that the U.S. would no longer be sending a battalion equipped with conventional long-range missiles to deter Russia, as agreed in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 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
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
“The bottom line is, if he says we’re leaving, you’re leaving,” the former battalion chief said of supervisors at the Lachman fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
Think of the word battle—two t’s, one I. Benito secretly played with a battalion of toy soldiers. believe.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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
A nearby truck housed the operations team, which served as an intermediary for radio communications between the command post and fire battalions battling the flames.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2025
It subsequently scaled down combat operations across northern Gaza, declaring that Hamas’s local battalions had been dismantled.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2024
Most Hamas battalions have been degraded and are scattered.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
The voice that had swept down on retreating battalions crossing the Naktong River in Korea.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
