battery

battery [bat′ər ē]

n.

pl. batteries [Fr batterie < OFr battre: see BATTER¹]

1. the act of battering, beating, or pounding

2. machinery used in battering

3. a group of similar things arranged, connected, or used together; set or series; array [a battery of microphones, a battery of school achievement tests]

4. Chiefly Brit. a series of cages or other restrictive compartments used as to confine hens for intensive laying: often used attributively

☆ 5. Baseball the pitcher and the catcher

6. Elec.

a) a connected group of electrochemical cells that store electric charges and generate direct current

b) a single cell of this type

c) a similar nuclear, solar, or thermal device that stores and generates electrical energy

7. Law any illegal beating or touching of another person, either directly or with an object: see ASSAULT AND BATTERY

8. Mil.

a) an emplacement for heavy guns or a fortification equipped with such guns

b) a set of heavy guns, rockets, etc.

c) the personnel who operate such guns: usually the basic unit of artillery, corresponding to an infantry company

9. U.S. Navy a group of guns of the same caliber or used for the same purpose on a warship [an antiaircraft battery]

10. Music the percussion instruments of an orchestra

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in battery

in firing position after recovery from the recoil of a previous discharge: said of a heavy gun

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the Battery

a park in New York City, at the S tip of Manhattan: 21 acres: also called Battery Park