Definition of: battery

(bat′ər·ē) noun plural ·ter·ies
1. Mil. a An earthwork or parapet for protecting one or more guns. b Two or more pieces of artillery constituting a tactical unit. c A unit of an artillery regiment equivalent to an infantry company, or their guns and other equipment.
2. Nav. The armament of a war vessel, or a special part of it.
3. Electr. a An arrangement of two or more primary cells, dynamos, etc., for the purpose of building up a strong electric current: a battery of Leyden jars. b Any of several types of such cells used to heat the filaments of a vacuum tube, provide current, or supply voltage: an A, B, or C battery.
4. Law The illegal beating or touching of another person.
5. In baseball, the pitcher and catcher together.
6. Music The percussion instruments of an orchestra, collectively.
7. Optics The group of prisms in a spectroscope.
8. Any unit, apparatus, or grouping in which a series or set of parts or components are assembled to serve a common end: a battery of tests.
9. The act of battering or beating.
10. The instrument for such an act.
—dry battery Electr. A battery composed of cells whose contents are solid or nearly so; a dry pile.
—in battery Mil. In firing position, after recovery from recoil: said of a heavy gun. [<F batterie <battre beat]