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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

Wakamatsu described Freedman’s model of minor league teams as “somewhere between conventional baseball and the Savannah Bananas” and believes the Asian style could take hold in Irvine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

With Smith injured, the Dodgers first tried and then cut minor league journeyman Chuckie Robinson at backup catcher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

His father, Dan Cholowsky, was the 39th overall pick in 1991 by the Cardinals and played eight minor league seasons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Klein, who joined his fourth organization when the Dodgers acquired him in a minor league trade last June, is in his first full major league season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 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

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

On game nights, the minor-league Akron RubberDucks baseball team draws visitors downtown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

Griffin’s stock soared last year after he hit .333 across three minor-league levels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

You could fit them in a minor-league ballpark with room for the hot dog vendors.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

He became team captain as a junior and at the end of that year he was offered a minor-league contract, which he didn’t accept because he got a baseball scholarship to Stanford.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson