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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

That figure measures the amount of battery energy the company deployed during the quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Late Tuesday, the prosecutor for Tours said the officer involved had been charged with aggravated battery.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The almost 400 interceptors that remain are augmented by a Greek army contingent with a Patriot missile battery and roughly 100 soldiers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The report said a mattress in a lower flat bedroom ignited, and a lithium battery then caused the fire to spread rapidly.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Kyle heard a WHIRR-DING! sound effect as his red battery icon glowed green and grew from nearly empty to completely full.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

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

The American Battery Leadership Coalition advocates for federal support across the sodium-ion storage ecosystem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Battery companies are being pressed to meet increasingly shorter delivery dates, Bodegas says.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

In the mornings a few times a week he gets up early and goes running before work with Gerald along the Hudson, down to Battery Park City and back.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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

But successful designs have become more seriously contemplated only in recent years as electric motors and high-performance batteries have advanced.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

More batteries installed does not automatically mean more profit, so investors should track both.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Lidia comes out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth as she puts batteries into a plastic toy butterfly.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera

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