BATTERY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does battery mean? 

• BATTERY (noun)
  The noun BATTERY has 7 senses:

1. group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place

2. a device that produces electricity; may have several primary or secondary cells arranged in parallel or series

3. a collection of related things intended for use together

4. a unit composed of the pitcher and catcher

5. a series of stamps operated in one mortar for crushing ores

6. the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than hit a specific target

7. an assault in which the assailant makes physical contact

  Familiarity information: BATTERY used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BATTERY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

artillery; artillery unit (an army unit that uses big guns)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A device that produces electricity; may have several primary or secondary cells arranged in parallel or series

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

battery; electric battery

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

electrical device (a device that produces or is powered by electricity)

Meronyms (parts of "battery"):

electrode (a conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit)

pole; terminal (a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at which electric current enters or leaves)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "battery"):

A battery (the battery used to heat the filaments of a vacuum tube)

B battery (battery for supplying a constant positive voltage to the plate of a vacuum tube)

C battery (battery used to maintain the grid potential in a vacuum tube)

galvanic battery; voltaic battery (battery consisting of a number of voltaic cells arranged in series or parallel)

galvanic pile; pile; voltaic pile (battery consisting of voltaic cells arranged in series; the earliest electric battery devised by Volta)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A collection of related things intended for use together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

took a battery of achievement tests

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Meronyms (parts of "battery"):

artillery; gun; heavy weapon; ordnance (large but transportable armament)

Meronyms (members of "battery"):

sub-test (one of a battery of related tests)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A unit composed of the pitcher and catcher

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

squad; team (a cooperative unit (especially in sports))

Holonyms ("battery" is a part of...):

baseball team (a team that plays baseball)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A series of stamps operated in one mortar for crushing ores

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

battery; stamp battery

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

stamp mill; stamping mill (a mill in which ore is crushed with stamps)

Meronyms (parts of "battery"):

pestle; stamp (machine consisting of a heavy bar that moves vertically for pounding or crushing ores)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than hit a specific target

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

barrage; barrage fire; battery; bombardment; shelling

Context example:

the shelling went on for hours without pausing

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

fire; firing (the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy)

Sense 7

Meaning:

An assault in which the assailant makes physical contact

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

assault and battery; battery

Hypernyms ("battery" is a kind of...):

assault (a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "battery"):

resisting arrest (physical efforts to oppose a lawful arrest; the resistance is classified as assault and battery upon the person of the police officer attempting to make the arrest)

 Context examples 

A device designed to restore the capacity of a battery.

(Battery Charger Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

It runs on batteries and has long, thin wires that connect it to the heart.

(Artificial pacemaker, NCI Dictionary)

Cadmium compounds are used in industry in electroplating and coating, in pigments, in batteries, in alloys, and as stabilizers.

(Cadmium Compound, NCI Thesaurus)

Calcium nitrate is used in the production of cadmium hydroxide for use in alkaline batteries, to color glass and porcelain, in photography and in nuclear reactors.

(Cadmium Nitrate, NCI Thesaurus)

Calcium oxide is mainly used in nickel-cadmium batteries, but is also used in electroplating, in the production of plastics and nitrile rubbers and as a nematocide and ascaricide in swine.

(Cadmium Oxide, NCI Thesaurus)

This sort of ‘battery’ on fabric is bendable and can withstand washing cycles in a normal washing machine.

(Washable, wearable battery-like devices could be woven directly into clothes, University of Cambridge)

Their small size would also contribute to a compact battery.

(Creating Better Lithium-Ion Batteries Made Possible with New Discovery, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

How can birds that weigh less than an AA battery live through the immense power of Atlantic hurricanes?

(Coastal birds can weather the storm, but not the sea, National Science Foundation)

This substance is mainly used as a corrosion inhibitor and as a depolarizer in batteries.

(Calcium Chromate, NCI Thesaurus)

It is a capsule that is about the size of a large pill, with a lens, a light, a camera, a radio transmitter, and a battery inside.

(Capsule endoscope, NCI Dictionary)