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

Ryan Long, a 26-year-old minor league pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles system and a union leader, thinks the players association should try to understand how regular working people feel about a potential lockout.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

He signed with the Dodgers on Feb. 16 on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

The Dodgers are not shy about grabbing a minor league pitcher, telling him what he can do better and what he should stop doing, and seeing what sticks.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

The official name of Long Beach’s new minor league baseball team was announced Tuesday along with the name of its “alter ego”: the Long Beach Regulators.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

He found a job working twenty to thirty hours per week, earning $8.50 an hour, for the Salt Lake Bees, a minor league baseball team.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel