battalion

noun

bat·​tal·​ion bə-ˈtal-yən How to pronounce battalion (audio)
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

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 But then a right-wing battalion, Ahrar al-Sham, appeared on the scene; the group, which had a flush arsenal donated by Gulf states, didn’t have to resort to looting. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The Israeli army this morning reiterated its plans to invade Rafah, saying hostages and four Hamas battalions remain in the city. NBC News, 28 Feb. 2024 Nevertheless, Netanyahu says the Israeli military has drafted a pair of plans to both protect civilians and eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 26 Feb. 2024 With its tank battalion shrinking to the size of a company, the brigade initiated its second tank swap. David Axe, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 One soldier said rations for his battalion ran so low that troops disguised themselves as civilians to buy food from villagers. Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024 Israel claims Rafah is Hamas' final stronghold and has vowed to dismantle its battalions there. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024 But that’s enough for 30 front-line battalions or slightly fewer than a hundred front-line companies. David Axe, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024 The elephant tail whisk, for example, which belonged to the king, was swiped by Capt. J.E. Audley Harvey of Scotland’s celebrated Black Watch infantry battalion. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'battalion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of battalion was in 1579

Dictionary Entries Near battalion

Cite this Entry

“Battalion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battalion. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

battalion

noun
bat·​tal·​ion bə-ˈtal-yən How to pronounce battalion (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on battalion

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