ba t|ter|ing ram (battering rams ) also battering-ram N‑COUNT A battering ram is a long heavy piece of wood that is used to knock down the locked doors of buildings. □ They got a battering ram to smash down the door.
bat|tery /bæ təri/ (batteries )
1 N‑COUNT Batteries are small devices that provide the power for electrical items such as torches and children's toys. □ The shavers come complete with batteries. □ …a battery-operated radio. □ …rechargeable batteries.
2 N‑COUNT A car battery is a rectangular box containing acid that is found in a car engine. It provides the electricity needed to start the car. □ …a car with a flat battery.
3 N‑COUNT A battery of equipment such as guns, lights, or computers is a large set of it kept together in one place. □ [+ of ] They stopped beside a battery of abandoned guns. □ [+ of ] …batteries of spotlights set up on rooftops.
4 N‑COUNT A battery of people or things is a very large number of them. □ [+ of ] …a battery of journalists and television cameras.
5 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A battery of tests is a set of tests that is used to assess a number of different aspects of something, such as your health. □ [+ of ] We give a battery of tests to each patient.
6 ADJ [ADJ n] Battery farming is a system of breeding chickens and hens in which large numbers of them are kept in small cages, and used for their meat and eggs. [BRIT ] □ …battery hens being raised in dark, cramped conditions.
7 → see also assault and battery
8 to recharge your batteries → see recharge
bat|tle ◆◆◇ /bæ t ə l/ (battles , battling , battled )
1 N‑VAR A battle is a violent fight between groups of people, especially one between military forces during a war. □ …the victory of King William III at the Battle of the Boyne. □ …after a gun battle between police and drug traffickers. □ …men who die in battle.
2 N‑COUNT A battle is a conflict in which different people or groups compete in order to achieve success or control. □ The political battle over the pre-budget report promises to be a bitter one. □ …the eternal battle between good and evil in the world. □ …a macho battle for supremacy.
3 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can use battle to refer to someone's efforts to achieve something in spite of very difficult circumstances. □ [+ against ] …the battle against crime. □ [+ with ] She has fought a constant battle with her weight. □ [+ against ] Greg lost his brave battle against cancer two years ago.
4 VERB To battle with an opposing group means to take part in a fight or contest against them. In American English, you can also say that one group or person is battling another. □ [V + with/against ] Thousands of people battled with police and several were reportedly wounded. □ [V ] The sides must battle again for a quarter-final place on December 16. □ [V n] They're also battling the government to win compensation.
5 VERB To battle means to try hard to do something in spite of very difficult circumstances. In British English, you battle against something or with something. In American English, you battle something. □ [V to-inf] Doctors battled throughout the night to save her life. □ [V + with/against/through ] …a lone yachtsman returning from his months of battling with the elements. □ [V n] In Wyoming, firefighters are still battling the two blazes. ● bat|tler (battlers ) N‑COUNT □ If anyone can do it, he can. He's a battler and has a strong character.
6 → see also pitched battle , running battle
7 PHRASE If one person or group does battle with another, they take part in a battle or contest against them. You can also say that two people or groups do battle . □ [+ with/against ] He himself was going south to Gojjam to do battle with the rebels.
8 PHRASE If you say that something is half the battle , you mean that it is the most important step towards achieving something. □ Choosing the right type of paint for the job is half the battle.
9 PHRASE If you are fighting a losing battle , you are trying to achieve something but are not going to be successful. □ The crew fought a losing battle to try to restart the engines. □ [+ against ] …on a day when the sun is fighting a losing battle against the lowering clouds. [Also + with ]
10 PHRASE If one group or person battles it out with another, they take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached. You can also say that two groups or two people battle it out . □ [+ with ] In the Cup Final, Leeds battled it out with the old enemy, Manchester United.
11 PHRASE If you say that someone has lost the battle , but won the war , you mean that although they have been defeated in a small conflict they have won a larger, more important one of which it was a part. If you say that someone has won the battle but lost the war , you mean that they have won the small conflict but lost the larger one. □ The strikers may have won the battle, but they lost the war. SYNONYMS battle NOUN