league
1 Americannoun
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a covenant or compact made between persons, parties, states, etc., for the promotion or maintenance of common interests or for mutual assistance or service.
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the aggregation of persons, parties, states, etc., associated in such a covenant or compact; confederacy.
- Synonyms:
- coalition, combination
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an association of individuals having a common goal.
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Sports. a group of athletic teams organized to promote mutual interests and to compete chiefly among themselves: a tri-county community softball league.
a bowling league for ages 12–18;
a tri-county community softball league.
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Sports.
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a major league.
He played in both leagues, with four different teams, but he’ll always be remembered most as a Cincinnati Red.
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a minor league.
During her tenure as general manager of the league in Florida, eight of her players were promoted to the majors.
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As a pianist he just simply isn't in your league.
verb (used with or without object)
idioms
noun
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a unit of distance, varying at different periods and in different countries: in English-speaking countries usually estimated roughly at 3 miles (4.8 kilometers).
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a square league, as a unit of land measure, estimated roughly at 4,428 acres (1,791.9 hectares).
noun
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an association or union of persons, nations, etc, formed to promote the interests of its members
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an association of sporting clubs that organizes matches between member teams of a similar standard
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a class, category, or level
he is not in the same league
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working or planning together (with)
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(modifier) of, involving, or belonging to a league
a league game
a league table
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See alliance.
Etymology
Origin of league1
First recorded in 1425–75; from French ligue, from Italian liga, lega, from legare, from Latin ligāre “to tie, bind”
Origin of league2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lege, leghe, leuge, from Old French legue, from Late Latin leuga, leuca, a Gaulish unit of distance equal to 1.5 Roman miles, apparently from Gaulish; (compare Breton leó, leu, lev “league”)
Explanation
The two meanings of league are quite different — either it’s a group or federation joined for a common purpose (say, your bowling league or the League of Nations) or it’s a rough measurement of about three miles, usually at sea. One would hope that two such different meanings of the same word would have some deep connection far back in word history, but it does not seem to be the case here. The word meaning "an agreement of groups" appears to be related to the French word ligue, also found in ligature ("thing that ties"), while the league of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (an excellent adventure book if you’re in the mood) is from Middle English. We call words like these homographs — since spelling is all they seem to share!
Vocabulary lists containing league
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Baseball: A Lexicon
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Working Together: The Language of Unions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Why do people still call Sean McVay one of the best head coaches in the league!?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
The league has agreed to an extended All-Star break to accommodate the Olympics, but MLB also could tire of waiting for the union to agree with LA28, which badly wants MLB players to participate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Jaissle will not want to go into that without a win in six league and cup games.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Until now, there hadn’t been a World Series involving two teams with payrolls in the bottom half of the league since 1991.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
She’d never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Once we’re leagued up, we’ll post the results, and there’ll be a weekly column here summing up the score, the scenario, and the stats.
From The Verge ● Feb. 28, 2019
Other Post stockholders leagued to announce that Newhouse's 15% invasion was as far as he would be allowed to go.
From Time Magazine Archive
The interests leagued against Wiley, finally manufactured charges that he had misused the funds of his Bureau; and, though exonerated by President Taft after a careful investigation had been made, he resigned in protest.
From Time Magazine Archive
He may be leagued with his appointees to abstract and share a larger percentage of the assets than the law allows, thus cheating legitimate creditors.
From Time Magazine Archive
Big-hoofed gray horses spackled like wolves, that rolled their eyes and whinnied at my footfall, leagued with men as if strapped to their business by harness I could not see.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
The personal advancement of the southern Hy-Nials was more to him than the political advancement of his country; and he disgraced his name and his nation by leaguing with the invaders.
From An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 by Mary Frances Cusack
Mind your own affairs—you're leaguing again me, and I'll engage Randal Rooney's at the bottom of all—and the cement that sticks you and Phil so close together.
From Tales and Novels — Volume 08 by Maria Edgeworth
Bordeaux had been the centre of a conspiracy for leaguing together the malcontents of la Vendée with those of the South, these again being in touch with the royalists of the Lyonnais and Franche Comté.
From William Pitt and the Great War by John Holland Rose
Next, a charge was brought that he had been leaguing with a half-crazy woman called the Nun of Kent, who had said violent things about the King.
From A Book of Golden Deeds by Charlotte Mary Yonge
It is possible that the religion which she secretly professes has estranged her heart from me, but she would never be capable of betraying me, or of leaguing herself with my foes.
From Henry VIII and His Court by Henry Niles Pierce
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
