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

According to The Moscow Times, Adam has received at least 16 state awards and has served as his father's chief bodyguard and an observer for a rifle battalion under the Russian Defense Ministry since 2023. —Isabel Van Brugen, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 May 2025

One battalion meets the time requirement some of the time; two others consistently fail to meet it. —Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 12 May 2025

An infantry battalion of Arkansas volunteers would be used to man forts in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) and at Fort Smith, releasing the regular troops from those posts, and a second unit of Arkansans would serve as cavalry in Mexico. —Arkansas Online, 3 May 2025

Those could include a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles, a tank battalion and two companies of tanks, an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles, Paladin artillery vehicles, Howitzers and infantry vehicles. —Lolita C. Baldor, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025

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

Rhymes for battalion

• italian
• medallion
• scallion
• stallion

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