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:
The league, Saltburn, Norton and the England and Wales Cricket Board have all declined to comment on the incident.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
After that, LIV’s players face an uncertain future with the prospect of the league dramatically scaling back its operations or shutting down entirely in 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
On Tuesday, the Irvine City Council approved a five-year agreement under which a yet-to-be-named minor league team would play at the sparkling ballpark within the city’s Great Park, starting next May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Their league cricket is utterly uncompromising, it's ruthless and I've certainly seen evidence of sharp practice in the two or three seasons I played there.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Malcolm began by saying that he was interested in joining the league, but that he wasn’t sure about it.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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
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
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
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
“Achren is leagued with Arawn of Annuvin,” cried Taran.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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 Pierce, Henry Niles
I have told him that all the northern tribes are leaguing now, that they have determined to keep to themselves the Big Horn country and the valleys to the north.
From Warrior Gap A Story of the Sioux Outbreak of '68. by King, Charles
Once a merchant brought with him a diving apparatus, but the divers were highly indignant, and leaguing against him refused to show the best banks.
From Southern Arabia by Bent, Theodore
The old self-depreciation waking up to life, the old enemy leaguing with languor and despondency to mar the sweet hopefulness of convalescence.
From Heriot's Choice A Tale by Carey, Rosa Nouchette
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 Cusack, Mary Frances
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.
