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a beating together of the calves or feet during a leap.
(in tap dancing) a rapid succession of taps, often compared to drumming or to machine-gun fire.
battery (def 11).
electricity.

also called galvanic battery, voltaic battery. a combination of two or more cell electrically connected to work together to produce electric energy.
cell1 (def 7a).

any large group or series of related things:
a battery of questions.
military.

two or more pieces of artillery used for combined action.
a tactical unit of artillery, usually consisting of six guns together with the artillerymen, equipment, etc., required to operate them.
a parapet or fortification equipped with artillery.

a group or series of similar articles, machines, parts, etc.
baseball. the pitcher and catcher considered as a unit.
navy.

(on a warship) a group of guns having the same caliber or used for the same purpose.
the whole armament of a warship.

psychology. a series of tests yielding a single total score, used for measuring apt-tude, intelligence, personality, etc.
the act of beating or battering.
law. an unlawful attack upon another person by beating or wounding, or by touching in an offensive manner.
an instrument used in battering.
also, batterie. music. the instruments comprising the percussion section of an orchestra.
any imposing group of persons or things acting or directed in unison:
a battery of experts.
contemporary examples

only scale will bring down the costs of the cars and batteries.
electric cars: a flickering business model megan mcardle january 21, 2013

then the third and final backup, batteries, lasted only eight hours.
rory kennedy and the campaign to get rid of nuclear plants rory kennedy, keven mcalester march 13, 2011

the four former strangers headed down the street hauling bags filled with water, food, candles, batteries, and other supplies.
occupy wall street takes on hurricane sandy relief efforts caitlin d-ckson november 2, 2012

someone had accidentally turned on the device hours beforehand, and by the time the meeting started, the batteries were dead.
mohamed mohamud trial: was he tricked into terrorism? winston ross april 22, 2012

maybe, but surely a vacation should be spent relaxing on the beach and recharging the batteries.
the h-ll of the hamptons: why the exclusive hotspot is a mind-numbing drag robert gold august 17, 2014

historical examples

the corps had no artillery present, its batteries, on account of the mud, being still north of gravelly run.
the memoirs of general p. h. sheridan, complete general philip henry sheridan

we now had some sharp work with the batteries, keeping up a steady fire.
ned myers james fenimore cooper

then came m-sses of uhlans and hussars and after them batteries of great guns and scores and scores of the wicked machine guns.
the hosts of the air joseph a. altsheler

their fight with the batteries had lasted five hours and they had suffered severely.
the rock of chickamauga joseph a. altsheler

not even those gallant german batteries who saved the infantry at spicheren could boast of a finer feat.
the great boer war arthur conan doyle

noun (pl) -teries

two or more primary cells connected together, usually in series, to provide a source of electric current
short for dry battery

another name for acc-mulator (sense 1)
a number of similar things occurring together: a battery of questions
(criminal law) unlawful beating or wounding of a person or mere touching in a hostile or offensive manner see also -ssault and battery
a fortified structure on which artillery is mounted
a group of guns, missile launchers, searchlights, or torpedo tubes of similar type or size operated as a single ent-ty
a small tactical unit of artillery usually consisting of two or more troops, each of two, three or four guns
(mainly brit)

a large group of cages for intensive rearing of poultry
(as modifier): battery hens

(psychol) a series of tests
(chess) two pieces of the same colour placed so that one can unmask an attack by the other by moving
the percussion section in an orchestra
(baseball) the pitcher and the catcher considered together
n.

1530s, “action of battering,” from middle french batterie, from old french baterie (12c.) “beating, thrashing, -ssault,” from batre “beat,” from latin battuere “beat” (see batter (v.)).

meaning shifted in middle french from “bombardment” (“heavy blows” upon city walls or fortresses) to “unit of artillery” (a sense recorded in english from 1550s). extension to “electrical cell” (1748, first used by ben franklin) is perhaps from the artillery sense via notion of “discharges” of electricity. in middle english, bateri meant only “forged metal ware.” in obsolete baseball jargon battery was the word for “pitcher and catcher” considered as a unit (1867, originally only the pitcher).

battery bat·ter·y (bāt’ə-rē)
n.

the act of beating or pounding.

an array of similar things intended for use together, such as achievement tests.

battery
(bāt’ə-rē)

a device containing an electric cell or a series of electric cells storing energy that can be converted into electrical power (usually in the form of direct current). common household batteries, such as those used in a flashlight, are usually made of dry cells (the chemicals producing the current are made into a paste). in other batteries, such as car batteries, these chemicals are in liquid form.

our living language : a battery stores chemical energy, which it converts to electrical energy. a typical battery, such as a car battery, is composed of an arrangement of galvanic cells. each cell contains two metal electrodes, separate from each other, immersed within an electrolyte containing both positive and negative ions. a chemical reaction between the electrodes and the electrolyte, similar to that found in electroplating, takes place, and the metals dissolve in the electrolyte, leaving electrons behind on the electrodes. however, the metals dissolve at different rates, so a greater number of electrons acc-mulate at one electrode (creating the negative electrode) than at the other electrode (which becomes the positive electrode). this gives rise to an electric potential between the electrodes, which are typically linked together in series and parallel to one another in order to provide the desired voltage at the battery terminals (12 volts, for example, for a car battery). the buildup of charge on the electrodes prevents the metals from dissolving further, but if the battery is hooked up to an electric circuit through which current may flow, electrons are drawn out of the negative electrodes and into the positive ones, reducing their charge and allowing further chemical reactions.

a device that produces an electric current by harnessing the chemical reactions that take place within its cells.