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.
The league is not expected to release its findings until after the NBA Finals, which begin Wednesday between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
In the four years since he put on the orange-and-blue jersey, Brunson has led the entire league in fourth-quarter scoring in the playoffs, outpacing the next-most-clutch performer by more than 100 points.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
The club have since gone on to do big things, including winning seven Mexican league titles and the Copa Sudamericana in 2006.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Instead—during a summer when other players were inking deals north of $250 million—Brunson sat in the NBA’s bargain bin, and the Knicks could scoop him at just the 46th-highest salary in the league.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
“She set a new league record in the 400-meter race just hours before the accident. She had the discipline, the determination. She had incredible potential.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
