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• minor league
  minor league

  noun

  any association of professional teams other than the major leagues, as in baseball, especially when the member teams are associated with or controlled by major-league teams, which use them as training and proving teams for promising players.
• minor-league
  minor-league

  adjective

  of or relating to the minor leagues, especially in baseball.

minor league

¹ American  

[mahy-ner leeg] / ˈmaɪ nər ˈlig /

noun

Sports.

1. any association of professional teams other than the major leagues, as in baseball, especially when the member teams are associated with or controlled by major-league teams, which use them as training and proving teams for promising players.

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minor-league ² American  

[mahy-ner-leeg] / ˈmaɪ nərˈlig /

adjective

1. Sports. of or relating to the minor leagues, especially in baseball.

2. Informal. of little import or consequence.

   a painter with minor-league talent.

   Synonyms:

   second-rate, lesser, insignificant

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minor league British  

noun

1. any professional league in baseball other than a major league Compare major league

2. (modifier) of relatively little importance

   that firm is very minor league

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minor leaguer
  noun
• minor-leaguer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of minor league¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Origin of minor-league²

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; adjective use of minor league ( def. )

Example Sentences

All told, the Angels are a glorified minor league team with no apparent vision and no obvious hope for the future and not worth the money at any price.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2026

“He brings with him, like, a two-inch folder stuffed with handwritten stock reports he had written on minor league bus trips,” Houston said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

Brian and Notre Dame head coach Justin Siegel are best friends and former minor league baseball players who turned to softball when they had daughters.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026

The Dodgers also optioned right-handed pitcher River Ryan and reassigned infielder Ryan Fitzgerald to minor league camp.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

But all these were minor league teams that played only in local and regional contests.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown