battery

US /ˈbæt.əɹi/ UK /ˈbæt.(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #3993

Meanings

1

noun
A device that stores power and is used to run electrical things.

My phone needs a new battery because it dies so quickly.
2

noun
The amount of stored power left in such a device.

Her phone didn't have enough battery for another call.
3

noun
A large set of similar things used together.

The patients had to take a whole battery of tests.
4

noun
The crime of physically attacking or hitting another person.

He was charged with assault and battery after the fight.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms batteries

Derived forms antibatterybatteriedbatteries-includedbattery-backedbattery-electricbattery-includedbattery-operatedbattery-poweredbatterylessbatterylikecounter-batterycross-battery

Related forms accumulator assault

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

battery charger
a device that restores electrical energy to a rechargeable battery

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Battery ultimately derives from Latin battuere, “to strike” or “beat,” and originally referred to hammered metalwork or fighting. Its military meaning developed from a succession of artillery blows into a coordinated group of guns. That idea of several units acting together led to the electrical sense, first applied to an array of Leyden jars in the 18th century and later to devices producing current chemically.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“beat”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie. By surface analysis, batter + -y. The electrical sense was coined by American polymath Benjamin Franklin by analogy with a military battery that his series of Leyden jars resembled.

batterie Middle French baterie Old French battuō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

External links

# battery

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbæt.əɹi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbæt.(ə)ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 3993

## Meanings
1. A device that stores power and is used to run electrical things.
2. The amount of stored power left in such a device.
3. A large set of similar things used together.
4. The crime of physically attacking or hitting another person.

## Examples
- My phone needs a new battery because it dies so quickly.
- Her phone didn't have enough battery for another call.
- The patients had to take a whole battery of tests.
- He was charged with assault and battery after the fight.

## Derived Forms
- antibattery
- batteried
- batteries-included
- battery-backed
- battery-electric
- battery-included
- battery-operated
- battery-powered
- batteryless
- batterylike
- counter-battery
- cross-battery

## Related Forms
- accumulator
- assault

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: batterie
- Root: baterie
- Root: battuō

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“beat”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie. By surface analysis, batter + -y. The electrical sense was coined by American polymath Benjamin Franklin by analogy with a military battery that his series of Leyden jars resembled.

## AI Etymology
Battery was borrowed from Middle French batterie, from Old French baterie (“action of beating”), from batre (“beat”), from Latin battuō (“beat”), from Gaulish. Doublet of batterie. By surface analysis, batter + -y. The electrical sense was coined by American polymath Benjamin Franklin by analogy with a military battery that his series of Leyden jars resembled.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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