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major league

major league

81 3.4
The highest level of professional sport where the best players play
  • noun
  • /ˈmeɪdʒər liɡ/
translation icon : Grandes Ligas
  • Who was the first Native American baseball player in the major leagues?
  • major league baseball
  • a major league player
  • a major league team

I've never heard of a sports, a Major League franchise going bankrupt.

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Examples

  • Theo Epstein was the youngest general manager in, I think the history of Major League Baseball.

  • Hank Aaron's hit more home runs Than anybody in major league baseball, More than babe Ruth.

  • The example I like to give is Major League Baseball.

  • And I would dream about playing Major League Baseball, or really the big sport.

  • Played a major league team in a major league stadium.

  • Once there was a major league baseball team in Brooklyn.

  • Years is the number of years a pitcher has spent in the major leagues.

    Academic text (1991)
  • For two years at Holy Cross and for six months in the major leagues, he played brilliantly.

    Academic text (2000)
  • In 1994, Hofacre reported that women represent 50% of all major league soccer fans.

    Academic text (2000)
  • He worked hard every day to achieve his dream of playing in the major league.

Synonyms

big time
vsmajor league
  • Informal
161 4.1

A very successful level in entertainment or sport where people become famous

focuses more on competition level and formal professional standard
big league
vsmajor league
51 3.0

The highest level of sports competition, like the major leagues in baseball

includes that competition meaning and also a high professional standard
majors
vsmajor league
  • Jargon
8 4.3

The top professional baseball leagues in the United States

is a broader phrase for top competition, not only a single league

Antonyms

49 3.0

A group of sports teams that play below the top professional level

How Elite

major league
81 3.4
league
567 2.4
regional
29 3.3
intercounty
  • UK
4.8

Surface Forms

major league singular
major leagues plural

Morphology

major + league

The phrase combines 'major' (high in importance/level) with 'league' (a sports competition), so the sense of the top/highest level of professional competition — and by extension 'top-level' in other domains — is directly derivable from the parts. This is a transparent, compositional pattern common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will generally understand it without prior exposure.

Etymology

Major league comes from team sports where the top group of teams was called the major league, not the smaller 'minor' leagues. So today major league means the highest level or used to say someone or something is at the 'very best' standard.