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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

• 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

See Examples For:

minor league minor-league

The San Diego Padres minor league catching coordinator is in the custody of the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The latter company would also include the Hartford Wolf Pack, a minor league ice hockey team, and MSG Training Center in Westchester County.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The traditional minor league team operates far from the shadow of a major league team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Watching the team this year is like watching a minor league game, with a mixture of mediocre young players, mediocre Band-Aid veterans, and Trout.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 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

Then, the Dodgers came calling, signing Muncy to a minor-league contract in late April 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

“The game tends to humble everybody,” Cardinals minor-league hitting coordinator Brock Hammit said, “and he got humbled.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

He hopes to begin a minor-league rehab assignment around the end of the month or beginning of September.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

The Dodgers also traded left-hander Antoine Kelly, whom they signed to a minor-league deal in November to the Cubs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

It’s like were major leaguers who’ve been sent down to a minor-league city for a while.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor