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

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

That leads Luke Leone (Michael Trucco) to bring in a controversial new battalion chief, Brett Richards (Shawn Hatosy) — a man Vince couldn’t stand, according to Sharon. —Alamin Yohannes, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025

Part of life moving on is appointing a new battalion chief, which was shaping up to be quite a fight, with Bode and Jake going at each other at the funeral. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025

The rest of his tank battalion was killed in fighting, with their bodies taken to Gaza. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 13 Oct. 2025

Avivi said that gathering information on Hamas terrorists and the organization’s structure has been an ongoing effort for years, including mapping platoons, companies, and battalions, as well as identifying commanders. —Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 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