battalion

noun

bat·​tal·​ion bə-ˈtal-yən 

1

: a considerable body of troops organized to act together : army

2

: a military unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units

3

: a large group

Synonyms

• army
• array
• host
• legion

Examples of battalion in a Sentence

a battalion of angry protesters

the nation's battalions were forced to fight on two fronts simultaneously

Recent Examples on the Web

What People Are Saying David Acuña, a battalion chief for Cal Fire said this is only the third time in 30 years a wildfire of this kind has happened in January. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

On Monday, Cal Fire’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit sent three fire engines and a battalion chief to Southern California, while its Santa Clara unit sent two engines and a strike team. —Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2025

His friend was later wounded and referred him to the Achilles battalion. —C.j. Chivers Robert Fass Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024

The brigade may have assigned two of its 400-person battalions to a costly attack on the Ukrainian garrison in Pogrebki, in the no-man’s-land on the northwestern edge of the salient, starting in November. —David Axe, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French bataillon, from Old Italian battaglione, augmentative of battaglia company of soldiers, battle, from Late Latin battalia combat — more at battle entry 1

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

battalion

noun

bat·​tal·​ion bə-ˈtal-yən 

1

: a large body of troops : army

2

: a military unit composed of two or more smaller units (as companies or batteries)

3

: a large body of persons organized to act together