battalion

[buh-tal-yuhn]

noun

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.

battalion

/ bəˈtæljən /

noun

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

2. (usually plural) any large array

Other Word Forms

• subbattalion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of battalion¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of battalion¹

C16: from French bataillon , from Old Italian battaglione , from battaglia company of soldiers, _battle

Example Sentences

The battalion formed part of the Indian Corps, which was sent to France in 1914, to shore up the British forces fighting on the Western Front.

From BBC

Get them wrong or do them too often and a government's progress can become jolty and piecemeal, and the backbench battalion of the disgruntled grows larger.

From BBC

When a battalion chief arrived at the scene to investigate the crash, they were involved in another collision at the same intersection.

From Los Angeles Times

A battalion of chefs, butlers and drivers catering to the smallest of whims.

From Los Angeles Times

Sebastian Neuhaus commands the Swiss army's disaster relief readiness battalion, and says they must press on despite the scale of the task.

From BBC

Related Words

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