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Glite Dictionary
farm team

farm team

3 4.0
A minor-league team that trains young players for a major team
  • noun
  • /fɑrm tim/
  • Jargon
translation icon : equipo de ligas menores
  • Under Farrell's stewardship, all that Cleveland's minor league farm teams have done is win.
  • farm team of the Royals
  • farm team of the Dodgers
  • farm team of the Sox

Examples

  • When Boston Braves owner Lou Perini realized in the early 1950s that even with a winning team he could not compete locally with the Red Sox, he decided to move his franchise to Milwaukee, where he owned a Braves minor league farm team.

    Academic text (2014)

  • The Kansas City Blues were a farm team for the Yankees, and every summer they would come to town and play out of their positions: Rizzuto at first base.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Universities are now just free farm teams for professional sports.

    Blog text (34)

  • This is a farm team for the big galleries.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • They, they were probably a farm team for one of the NHL hockey teams.

  • Phillies farm team, in Nebraska.

    Firstborn (1984)

  • They were probably a farm team for one of the NHL hockey teams.

  • My dad grew up in Evansville, Indiana, when the AAA Triplets were a Milwaukee Braves farm team.

    Blog text (27)

  • In 2009, Wallach became the manager for the Dodgers AAA farm team, the Albuquerque Isotopes, where he was named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year.

    Blog text (25)

  • He was excited to join the farm team and prove his skills to the major league scouts.

Synonyms

baseball team
vsfarm team
52 1.0

A group of players organized to play baseball together

is instead a lower-level team owned or affiliated to develop younger players
ball club
vsfarm team
  • US
7 2.5

A professional baseball team that plays and travels together

is a minor affiliate whose main role is developing less experienced players
ballclub
vsfarm team
  • US
4 3.0

A team that plays baseball or softball

is a minor affiliate tied to a major club for player development
minor-league team
vsfarm team
  • US
4 2.9

A sports team that plays in a lower-level league below the major leagues

is affiliated with a major club and focuses on player development
farm club
vsfarm team
  • Jargon
1 5.4

A small sports team owned by a big team to train players

is defined by being affiliated and focused on developing younger or inexperienced players
baseball club
vsfarm team
1 2.0

A team of professional baseball players who play and travel together for competitions

is instead a lower-level affiliate used primarily to train newer players
minor-league club
vsfarm team
  • US
3.2

A sports team that plays in a lower league below the top teams

is affiliated and used mainly to prepare younger players for the higher league

How Professional

farm team
  • Jargon
3 4.0
non-league
  • UK
4.9

Surface Forms

farm team singular
farm teams plural

Morphology

farm + team

The compound is based on a metaphorical extension of 'farm' (a place where things are grown) plus 'team', so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer it refers to a team that 'grows' or develops players. However, the specific institutional sense (minor-league affiliation and development role) and the sports-industry nuance are not fully predictable from the words alone and may vary cross-linguistically, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Farm team comes from the simple image of a farm, where people 'grow' plants and animals; a big club keeps a small team to 'grow' its young players before they move up. So, farm team means a minor-league team used to train and prepare players for the main team.