bat|ter|y

bat|ter|y «BAT uhr ee, BAT ree», noun, plural -ter|ies.

1. a) a container holding materials that produce electricity by chemical action; a single electric cell: »

Most flashlights work on two batteries.

b) a set of two or more electric cells that produce electric current: »

The car won't start because the battery is dead.

2. Figurative. any set of similar or connected things: »

The President spoke before a battery of television cameras. If you want this job, you will have to take a battery of tests.

3. a set of similar pieces of equipment such as mounted guns, searchlights, or mortars, used as a unit: »

Four artillery batteries began firing on the enemy.

4. a) a platform or fortification equipped with two or more pieces of artillery. b) a military unit of artillery, usually commanded by a captain and comprising four pieces of artillery together with the soldiers who serve them. A battery corresponds to a company or troop in other branches of the army.

5. the armament (or any part of it) of a warship: »

a main battery of 8-inch guns.

6. Baseball. the pitcher and catcher together.

7. a group of closely arranged cages for raising chicks or chickens in a minimum of space.

8. Law. an unlawful beating of another person or any threatening touch to his clothes or body.

9. (collectively) the percussion instruments of an orchestra.

╂[< Middle French batterie < Old French baterie a battering, a rampart < batre beat < Latin battuere strike]